The Butterfly Effect
by Lily Sang
Summary: In which Vegeta learns who the kid from the future is... far before he should have. In which he willingly settles into life on Earth... on the outside. In which his heart grows ever colder... to the delight of one. Now complete.
1. Chapter 1

It is often the smallest things that impact our lives, for better or for worse. Say you were just about to cross the street when you notice your shoelace is untied. As you bend down, a car skids around the corner and barrels past you, the driver in a hurry and not paying attention to the road. If you hadn't looked down and seen your shoelace, you could have easily gotten run over.

Or maybe it's time for you to go to work but the weather is so bad that you call in sick so you can spend the day reading and drinking hot chocolate. Had you sucked it up and gone to your job, however, you would have met the person who is perfect for you in every way, fallen in love, and gotten married. Instead, you stay home. Two fates that should have crossed miss each other completely, and as a result the both of you live out your lives alone.

The butterfly effect: where one tiny, insignificant action starts a snowball of cause and effect, resulting in a large-scale change. Did you know that the fate of the universe could be decided just by which direction the wind was blowing at a certain time on a small, backwater planet? It can. What follows is the telling of a case where the destiny of trillions upon trillions of people is changed by one man hearing eight words he was never supposed to.

Chapter 1

Vegeta took a few deep breaths. Seeing Kakarrot and the strange kid both turn Super Saiyan and then fight each other for a split-second -not to mention the dizzying waves of energy coming off both of them- made him light-headed. They were back to normal now, but just moments ago... Kakarrot, yes, but the kid... it couldn't be true… he _couldn't_ have been strong enough to turn Freeza into mince-meat.

But Vegeta could still smell Freeza's blood on the kid's sword.

There was another Super Saiyan. The legend explicitly stated that one was born only every hundred years, and yet... there he was. Vegeta _couldn't_ believe it... but he wanted to... if there could be more than one Super Saiyan, that guaranteed his chances of ascending. But how could the kid have Saiyan blood? The only Saiyans were Vegeta, Kakarrot and the whelp.

But there that kid was, sporting golden hair and _casually_ destroying the man who had made Vegeta's life a living _hell_. How had this happened?

Never mind all that, Kakarrot was back. Vegeta had a few questions for him, mainly what kind of training he'd done on the way to Namek but also how he escaped alive.

But all that could wait. Right now, he was more concerned with the kid. The hot desert wind blew Vegeta's hair away from his face as he glanced around at Earth's most powerful fighters, plus Bulma. They weren't talking, just staring at the far-off kid and Kakarrot, waiting for them to finish so they could be filled in. Sheep.

Vegeta exhaled impatiently and wondered, not for the first time, what he was doing on this dustball. Once he ascended and killed Kakarrot, he would steal a spaceship and go somewhere more interesting. He must keep reminding himself that Earth was just a pit stop on his travels to conquer society; otherwise he'd start settling in and maybe even relent on his training. The instant that happened, he would cease to be a Saiyan.

Oh for god's sake, how much longer were they going to _talk? _Why was the kid even here?

As if in answer, Vegeta heard a single sentence, carried on a gust of wind:

"I've come from twenty years in the future."

That caught him off guard. Quickly, he looked around again. Looks like he was the only one who heard... but _was the kid telling the truth?_

…He must be. He had no reason to lie about something as unbelievable as being from the future, and that explained why nobody recognized him yet he knew all of them.

Fascinating... So the Earthlings weren't as technologically obsolete as Vegeta had thought. He hadn't heard of _any_ species that were even close to building a time machine. He was grudgingly impressed.

Vegeta closed his eyes and focused all of his energy on catching more of the conversation. All of a sudden, he wanted to hear what this boy had to say.

But something was still nagging at him. Being from the future didn't explain why this kid could turn into a Super Saiyan. It didn't add up...

Of course! He wasn't thinking about it in the right terms. The boy didn't have to have been born on planet Vegeta to ascend... he just needed to have Saiyan blood...!

Which means that the boy was the son of either Kakarrot or... Vegeta. The dates added up; the child said he was from twenty years in the future and he couldn't have been more than nineteen. So either Vegeta or Kakarrot was going to have a son in the next few years, and that son would grow up to be the kid standing less than a hundred meters away. The whole situation was prickly. It was unnatural and it set all of Vegeta's senses on alert. In a year's time, one of them would have a son…

Of course, Vegeta shouldn't say that the father was going to be either him or Kakarrot, because he would _never _mate with an Earthling, he'd never stoop so low as to...

"My name is Trunks. And I do have Saiyan blood -because I'm Vegeta's son."

WHAT?!

Vegeta's eyes snapped open and he stared in horror at the far-off Kakarrot and... Trunks?! _That was impossible_. The wind must have distorted his words. It couldn't be... but it was. He knew what he heard.

Now that Vegeta knew the truth... he could see the resemblance in the boy's eyes. It was undeniable that they were related.

Vegeta was hit by a wave of nausea and he waited for a few moments for it to pass. What the hell was going through his future self's mind when he decided to sleep with an Earthling? He would rather that the royal family died out with him than continue, tainted with bad blood. And anyways, Vegeta had sworn when he first learned of the hybrid that Saiyan and human DNA formed to never have children. He didn't want to be surpassed by his own offspring.

But what really baffled Vegeta is how he had slept with an Earthling in the first place. How could he ever be attracted to such a lower life form?

Vegeta had to compose himself. He used his _chi_ to create an invisible slipstream in the wind to guide Trunks's voice more easily to him and he angled it so no one else could hear. This information had to be kept private at all costs.

But for all his trouble, the conversation had only turned to some bilge about androids coming in three years to kill everybody and Kakarrot had to use the time to train so he can get stronger and save the world and yadda yadda yadda. Same old boring garbage that Vegeta would rather stare at a rock than listen to.

At least, that's what he thought until he heard the part about him getting killed by the androids.

…They were really that strong…?

Vegeta was _shocked_. It was the fraternization. It had to be. He had gotten too cozy and slacked off and paid the price... there was no other way that he could _lose again_. He was almost happy that Trunks had came... surely, now that he knew the future, he couldn't lose... even though they had been too powerful for Trunks, a Super Saiyan, to defeat. That was good. Now he had an actual, life-threatening incentive to ascend. Maybe Vegeta had, in his own way, grown sedentary. But that was going to change. There was nothing like your impending death to get you working hard.

"All my mother wanted was for you to survive."

Vegeta's ears perked as he heard Trunks speak again. Was he about to say something about the mother? What could she possibly have that made Vegeta willingly sleep with her?

"That's why she worked so hard on the time machine."

Suddenly, Vegeta got a bad taste in his mouth. There was something off-putting about Trunks's words… but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

"Y-your mom... knows me?" Kakarrot asked, his voice high.

"Yes, very well."

She made the time machine. She knew Kakarrot well. Vegeta could name three women on Earth and one was married to Kakarrot, one was married to Briefs, and one was...

BULMA.

HE HAD SCREWED BULMA.

Any kinship Vegeta had felt with his future self crawled under the rug and died. Yes, yes, she wasn't the most idiotic or ugliest of Earthlings, but she was BULMA. She was mouthy and stubborn and... somehow promiscuous and naïve at the same time. Vegeta still went red at the memory of her coming on to him in front of a bunch of asexual Namekians when he had first found out he was stuck on Earth.

Vegeta edged away from Bulma as if she was planning the best time and place to jump him right then and there. He didn't want to give her any ideas.

He looked up just in time to see the boy (who he _refused_ to call son) fly away as Kakarrot joined the group. Of course, now everyone else had to be filled in. Vegeta listened just long enough to confirm the date (May 12th, 10 AM) and place (an island 9 kilometres southwest of South City) before silently withdrawing from the conversation.

Eventually, the small-minded chatter died down and Vegeta noticed the boy, sitting in a device that could only be the time machine, rise into the air. With a pang of displeasure, he noticed that the boy's hair was purple. Of course... his parents' hair had been black and blue, respectively.

Who said that the blasted future was fixed? Vegeta could do anything he wanted. He didn't care if he caused the boy to disappear or even created a paradox -he was _not _mating with Bulma!

And who said he was going to die by the androids' hand? He was going to fight that battle and live, damn it. Actually, scratch that. Vegeta was going to _savage _those metal toys before anyone could even draw breath to tell him, "No, Vegeta, you don't have to go that far." And after that, he would finally, _finally _kill Kakarrot. And everybody else on that stinking planet, for good measure.

It was only after they learned how Kakarrot escaped planet Namek (took one of the Ginyu's ships to Yardrat... and learned to teleport, curse him) and everyone was packing up to go that Vegeta remembered one more thing that needed to be taken care of.

"Kakarrot," he said, "what kind of training did you do on the way to Namek?"

"Oh, I just got Dr. Briefs to install a gravity machine in my ship," Kakarrot said casually. "It went all the way up to 100 G!"

Vegeta nodded to himself before taking to the air. 100 G… no wonder he had gotten so strong… still, it wouldn't help _him _much at this point. But a gravity simulator, eh…?

Well, if Kakarrot considered 100 G's to be good for training, Vegeta would get Briefs to make him a 300 G room. Yes, he could see it now. That was the key to ascending.

He would have a word with Briefs the minute he got back to Capsule Corp. While the machine was being built, he'd go to the Snowy Mountains to train. The below-freezing temperatures and thin air would help his endurance.

And when Vegeta got back to use the room, he'd be sure to stay at least ten feet away from Bulma _at all times._

_And so, Vegeta began his three-year stint in the gravity room. When he had first started to train in 300 G's, he almost overdid it... and quickly learned that 300 times Earth's gravity was not to be taken lightly..._

Two Weeks In

Just as Vegeta finished the follow-up for a devastating new attack he had invented himself, he felt a twinge. He froze and shut off the room.

A quick check instantly said something was wrong. If he held his arm completely still, he felt okay, but the tiniest movement sent numb pain spiking through his entire arm. He must have pulled a muscle- or worse.

This was bad. If Vegeta kept training, he would risk permanent damage to important nerves in his shoulder, but he didn't have the time to spare on long-term recovery. What could he do?

Well, what had Kakarrot done? There was no way he had trained in heavy gravity without hurting himself; Vegeta hadn't been doing a particularly strenuous routine and he'd almost dislocated his shoulder. Earth didn't have healing tanks, but Kakarrot had come out of his spaceship looking perfectly healthy. Come to think of it, it had been less than two months since Vegeta had basically ruined Kakarrot's body. So how had he recovered so quickly...?

"AAAARGH!"

Realizing the answer, Vegeta had slapped his forehead using his bad arm. All the nerves in his shoulder cheerfully burned and stung like they were being scraped raw by gravel.

But at least he knew how he could get better- _senzu_ beans! How could he have forgotten? Vegeta had only had one once, but he knew that they were grown somewhere on Earth. They completely healed all wounds and restored energy, and since he was Saiyan he would get stronger as well.

But how to get some?

Vegeta's face darkened as he realized the answer. It had to be Bulma. Out of all the Earthlings, she was the one that he had interacted with the most. She would be the logical choice to help him. Even if she didn't have any herself, Vegeta bet she knew who did.

Reluctantly, he set off to find her. Vegeta wasn't even sure she'd help him, but it was his only option. He didn't have a candle's hope of catching up to Kakarrot without _senzu_.

Vegeta tried to divine where she was by sensing her _chi_… but to no avail. He'd still only gotten as far as telling different power levels apart... so he knew where Yamcha was in Capsule Corp., but Briefs, Mrs. Briefs, Bulma, Pu'ar and Oolong all felt the same.

Still, it was dealt with easily enough. Vegeta knew the places in the mansion that Bulma frequented. That and his sense of smell lead him to the library. Right before he stepped in, a thought struck him…

Since she ended up bearing his child in the future, didn't that mean Bulma was… attracted to him on some level? Maybe… if he utilized that… getting her help wouldn't be so hard after all.

Vegeta gently eased the wooden door open and stepped into the library.

Bulma was seated at a table, poring over a thick textbook: _Advanced Quantum Mechanics for the Inquisitive Mentality._

Vegeta leaned casually on the table. (With his good arm, of course.)

Bulma looked up. "Oh. Hey," she said, closing her book. "What's up?"

Vegeta considered. How should he put this? Normally he'd just say, "Get me some _senzu_ beans," but would Bulma respond more to a disguised request than to an open demand? Better try it… at the very least, it would be good practice. His charisma wasn't on the greatest form, and it was about time to practice now that he knew he would be stuck on Earth for three more years. Vegeta's last brush with diplomacy had been when he was twenty and had ended in a pile of corpses anyways. "I've started my training and I found something that gave me… pause." He had noticed Earthlings' tendency to skirt around the issues. They rarely just asked for something up front.

Bulma's eyes narrowed shrewdly. "What do you want me to give you?"

Vegeta smirked. Apparently not all of them. "_Senzu_ beans."

Bulma leaned back in her chair and exhaled noisily. "Really? I'm afraid I can't help you there. Our company doesn't manufacture them." Though she was dismissive, there was something in her eyes.

A challenge. A challenge for him to _make_ her want to help.

Challenge accepted. Vegeta walked around the table and leaned down until they were eye-to-eye. "You sure about that?" he asked softly. "All that heavy gravity... what if something happens? Forget about training, I need the beans just to stay alive… and you're the only one I trust." He gazed at her imploringly.

A few tense seconds passed with neither blinking nor looking away. Bulma swallowed. "Fine!" she burst out, getting up. "I'll ask Karin." She started to walk away but stopped. "... What do you mean... if something goes wrong? You aren't hurt, are you?"

"No," Vegeta said quickly. "Of course not." Fantastic. He'd almost forgotten how much of a worrier Bulma was. He was lucky he had the foresight to leave out his injured arm.

"Okay..." she said reluctantly, turning to go again. "Just be careful."

Vegeta watched her leave in amusement. He'd almost thought he had overdone it with the part about her being the only one he could trust. As if he'd open up to _anyone _on this damn planet of worthless fools. Anyway, Bulma had eaten it up. Vegeta was once again amazed at how much Earthlings needed confirmation that they were worth something. And what they'd be willing to do to get it.

Of course, getting a few _senzu_ beans was hardly a big deal. But Bulma had lots of connections to people... Vegeta was curious to see what else he could get her to do.

Dance, puppet, dance.

_**I am taking requests for the update date/frequency.**_

_**~Lily F. Sang**_


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Vegeta successfully swayed Bulma into giving him _senzu_ beans just by being somewhat polite to her. Sentimental wench. She thought she was turning him into just another member of Team Earth. She wanted him to become like Yamcha, Tenshinhan and Piccolo: domesticated.

What she didn't know was that it was all an act. Vegeta wasn't an idiot. Even though the vapid affairs of the Earthlings made him long to snap at them, or maybe just snap them, or at least _leave_, he knew it wouldn't get him anywhere. When he was working under Freeza, he got three death threats before breakfast and smiles without malice of some sort were non-existent. Promotions didn't come to those who were kind and pleasant to be around; they came to those who got results. In fact, ruthlessness was an asset.

On Earth, however, it was laughably easy for Vegeta to get anything he wanted. He just had to paste on a bland smile, hold his tongue, let them misinterpret his silence and _boom_, unlimited access to the gravity room. Oh, that gravity room. It might just be his ticket out of this dump.

But Vegeta hated playing human. He hated, hated, hated it. They were a fundamentally different species, and he couldn't believe how no one really seemed to understand that. He'd never been particularly attached to his people before, but now he'd take them over Earthlings any day. Real Saiyans, not Kakarrot. Anything even remotely Saiyan had been beaten out of _that one _long ago. Which is why Vegeta avoided them; he didn't want any of their soft, sniveling humanity rubbing off on him. The only thing that let him keep up this asinine façade was the knowledge that their destruction would be that much sweeter once he finally eradicated them off the face of this stinking planet.

The _senzu_ beans let him finally cut loose and start his real training. It also marked the beginning of the hardest period in his life so far. It wasn't so much the crushing physical strain of the gravity. It was the solitude.

Throughout his entire life, Vegeta had loved being alone. Every so often, he would have a few hours or even days to himself where he wasn't needed by Freeza or busy with genocide. He would fantasize about the day when he grew strong enough to ignore Freeza's orders, when he would take his rightful place as the sovereign of the galaxy. Just thinking about it filled him with excitement. But now the only thoughts he had were painful. Vegeta was confined to his own personal hell, open for three solid years.

He knew this was his last chance. If he didn't ascend, that was it for him. He would never catch up to Kakarrot again. He couldn't conceive what he would do if that happened. The only reason Vegeta hadn't lost his mind already was because he _knew_ that this was temporary... this lapse in the Saiyan hierarchy would sort itself out. But if he was wrong... if Kakarrot's power was here to stay... it would _break _him.

But it wasn't all about being the strongest. Vegeta didn't just crave absolute supremacy, he craved the fight itself. He _wanted_ opponents stronger than him, just so he could push his limits. It was his Saiyan blood. He wanted to feel the rush of adrenaline that came with fighting a formidable opponent. But lately, he had been denied that pleasure. He had been terrified in his last few fights because his opponents were so hopelessly ahead of him that he didn't have a chance. Vegeta had stopped loving battle. What did that make him? Certainly not a Saiyan.

After defeating Kakarrot, Vegeta was going to finish everyone else off, he was going to steal a spaceship, and he was going to leave with an ocean of blood on his hands. There was a universe out there that had recently found itself without a ruler. He was going to fix that.

Soon there was nothing left of him but a seething mass of pent-up frustrations and desires. And one day, Vegeta just couldn't handle it anymore. He finally understood what would happen if he couldn't ascend. If he couldn't get up to Kakarrot's level, Vegeta couldn't fight anymore. And if he couldn't fight anymore, he would die. No matter the cause, it would happen. Vegeta wasn't built for failure. He couldn't handle it.

He didn't choose to die in peace, he chose to live in battle. He chose to live as a Saiyan.

After he straightened out his thoughts, it was ludicrously easy to ascend. The worst had come and gone. Even so, Vegeta's work wasn't over.

Ascending had barely used any of his time. Vegeta still had almost three years. Some people would have taken it easy, but he didn't even consider it. Leaving it at ascending was something his future self would do. The work was only beginning.

Vegeta practiced staying as a Super Saiyan for longer periods of time until he could spend an entire day in it. It was... bizarre. His attention span was almost non-existent and he was unusually manic. He'd grudgingly allowed Bulma to do a few tests. His brain was mass-producing adrenaline. He decided to put that particular feat on the back burner for now. Otherwise, he might accidentally kill Bulma or someone else of importance and his cover would be blown before he was ready.

Shortly after ascending, he knew that it wouldn't be a good idea to spend all day every day in the gravity room. It was taking longer and longer for his power level to rise. Vegeta sensed that he was starting to reach his limits and constant training would do more harm than good.

But it wasn't enough. Vegeta visited Capsule Corp.'s library and found some books on _chi_. He read up on Earth's philosophy, thinking he might discover the secret behind how Kakarrot and his friends were so adept at sensing it.

The martial artists of Earth believed that every living thing not only had an aura of power of its own, each aura was completely unique. The books compared it to a fingerprint. They said that with the proper understanding and focus, anyone should be able to distinguish between auras.

They also said that _chi_ changed with emotions. While their power level stayed the same, people's _chi_ flared with anger and shrank with depression. Now _that _was useful- if he mastered this technique, Vegeta would be able to read people's emotions. It would be even simpler to hide his vindictive intentions because he could just feel if anyone grew distrustful... _hah._

Vegeta decided that, in order to practice telling different _chi_ signatures apart and detect anomalies, he'd have to start spending more time with the residents of Capsule Corp. Unfortunately, there really wasn't any other way.

So he started going to meals. Before, he'd just eat in the kitchen after everyone left but now he sat at the table for the whole time, watching and listening.

At first Vegeta was certain that the experience would be hell, but it turned out to be surprisingly manageable. He just sat silently and ate his dinner, staring at his plate and pretending that he wasn't listening. But in reality, he was paying close attention to the conversation. Or, more accurately, the feeling behind the conversation.

After a few days of this, Vegeta started to notice a real difference in how he was sensing _chi_. With everyone at the table, their auras may as well have been lined up for him. Soon he could tell where everyone was seated with his eyes closed.

Vegeta also found out that Bulma didn't like her mother very much. It was interesting; whenever Mrs. Briefs had an opinion on Bulma's appearance or attitude, Bulma's _chi_ would flare (anger) but her actual response was polite. Why? Why hide your emotions over something so inconsequential?

Vegeta tried to see it from her point of view. Considering Earthlings' frankly appalling sentimentality, Bulma probably felt obligated to be nice to her mother just because she had birthed and raised her. Vegeta couldn't understand it; Mrs. Briefs was a horrid wench and was near the top of his list of people to kill once he was stronger than Kakarrot. If _his _parents had been anything like Mrs. Briefs, Vegeta would have killed them long before Freeza came.

OoO

Lightning crashed outside the window just as Bulma was walking by with a mug of hot chocolate. She winced reflexively, picking up her pace. Yikes. She had hated storms ever since her father had told her about short-circuiting, and how lightning was drawn to metal. It had been raining then, too. Bulma hadn't been the same since. (Or so she claimed.)

Taking a cautious sip, Bulma put a hand on her waist and surveyed the hall. Where did she want to go? She was between brilliant inventions, which always made her feel listless, and the added thunderstorm made her downright depressed.

She was saved the trouble by the familiar sight of a house robot wheeling towards her.

"Dad?" she asked. Often her father, too tied up in his work to leave the lab, would send a robot to collect her. One of the great things about having two geniuses under the same roof was ready access to a different perspective that could still understand the calculus.

"_No, mistress Bulma, you have a visitor," _the robot said in its charming monotone.

Bulma's eyes rose at that. "Get out_._" Who could it be? Goku wouldn't bother to get a robot, he'd just go wandering off looking for her. Come to think of it, so would the rest of her friends. The community of scientist acquaintances would call her on the televideo. "Lead the way."

It was _Lunch_. Standing in the foyer, not looking a day older than when Bulma had last seen her. Which had been _years _ago!

"Lunch!" Bulma cried, hugging her and hiding her relief at Lunch's dark hair.

"Hi, Bulma," Lunch said, looking around with wide eyes.

"Come in, come in," Bulma said, ushering Lunch out of her rain coat and towards the nearest living room. "I'll get you something hot and we can talk." She paused. "Oh, and I'm gonna need you to hand over any firearms that you find on your person. You'll get them back when you leave."

Later, in front of a glowing fireplace, Bulma and Lunch sat in silence. Each had hot chocolate.

"... So..." Bulma ventured. "What brings you here?"

"Hm?" Lunch looked up. "Oh, something, I'm sure. I just don't remember." She went back to staring at the fire.

"I see." Bulma took a breath. Then she changed the subject. "You still look cold. How long were you out in the rain? Maybe you're coming down with something."

"Gosh, I hope not!" Lunch's big eyes sparkled with worry. "Now that you mention it, I do feel a little... a... ah... ACHOO!"

Suddenly, Lunch's hair was golden blonde. Her eyes narrowed and darted around the room, taking in her surroundings. They landed on Bulma and she visibly relaxed. "Oh, it's just you." She took a deep drink from her mug. "Thanks. Though it could use something a little stronger, if you ask me." As she set it down, she stiffened. Almost like a twitch, her hands patted her pockets. "Where are my guns?" she asked through gritted teeth.

Bulma took a breath. Oh boy. "I confiscated them. Not all your friends are immune to bullets, you know."

"Yeah? Well give 'em back," Lunch glared. "I don't like being without 'em."

"I will when you leave," Bulma said. "And just so you know, there's about a hundred robots on this premises that are stronger than you, so if you try anything they _will_ break your arms." She couldn't take any chances. Lunch was a dangerous character.

"Relax." Lunch kicked her feet up on the coffee table, nearly knocking over her hot chocolate. "I didn't come here to pick a fight."

"Why did you come here?" Bulma asked curiously. She had barely spoken to Lunch when they were in with the same crowd.

"Tenshinhan," Lunch said. "I've been lookin' for him for years, and I've finally decided that I can't find him myself." She smiled mysteriously. "He's a slippery one."

"Why _me_, though?" Bulma was mystified. She had talked to Tenshinhan less than Lunch.

"I already asked Roshi," Lunch explained. "He didn't know nothin'. Kinda dumb, if you ask me. Wasn't he Ten's old master?"

"Tenshinhan's master was Kame Sen'nin's rival, the Crane master."

"Oh. Still." Lunch paused to pick up her hot chocolate. "Anyway, he couldn't tell me anything, so I thought... well, you seemed like a smart girl, so I thought I'd try you next. You didn't seem as lame as the rest of those dorks, at least."

"Hmm." In spite of herself, Bulma couldn't help but feel proud that she had made such an impression on Lunch. "Well, the last time I saw Ten was about... wow, it must've been a year ago now. I don't really know what to tell you... we weren't close..."

The disappointment on Lunch's face was so obvious that Bulma backtracked, not so much out of guilt as for fear for her safety.

"I-I mean, I could ask around and see if anyone's heard anything from him. And if I run into him again, I'll tell him you're looking for him."

"You will?" Lunch perked up. "Aww, thanks. That's sweet of you."

"Just give me your phone number, and I'll call you if I hear anything. Sound good?"

"Sure. Can I have my guns back now?"

On the way out the door, they ran into Vegeta, carrying a leather backpack and dressed warmly in a thick wool-lined jacket, gloves and boots.

"Where're you off to?" Bulma asked him.

"The Snowy Mountains." Vegeta didn't pause and he didn't look at Bulma. He just kept going.

"Wait, Vegeta!" Bulma cried, chasing after him and pulling Lunch along with her. "I have someone for you to meet."

"Who? Your latest therapist?" Vegeta asked, turning.

Bulma went red. "What? No!" she spluttered. "And that's _massage _therapist." To her embarrassment, Lunch was smirking. Bulma put a hand to her forehead. What was wrong with them? She was just trying to be nice! "Just... look, this is Lunch. She likes shooting stuff and stealing things and unmitigated violence. I'm sure you two have a lot in common."

After looking him over, Lunch extended a hand. Vegeta stared at her blankly. His eyes flicked to her hand and then back to her face. He shook her hand. His grip was firm. Then he began to walk down the hallway again.

"You could at least introduce yourself!" Bulma yelled after him.

"I have better things to do than to appease your need for etiquette," he said over her shoulder. "Like saving the Earth, for example..."

"Oh yeah, I'm sure taking a nap in the snow counts as saving the world!"

"I'm not wasting my time arguing the importance of meditation with you." Vegeta paused at the door out of Capsule Corp. to rip off his jacket and gloves, tossing them carelessly behind him.

"What are you _doing?_" groaned Bulma in exasperation.

"I don't need them. I made the mistake of telling your mother where I was going... she insisted that I... 'bundle up'. _Hmph_. They would have been detrimental to my training. You know better than anyone that the best way to placate that woman is to just give in until you're out of her sight."

Bulma sighed. "Okay, but can't you do something with them? I know we have robots, but that doesn't mean you can just-" The door slammed. "...do that."

She glanced at Lunch, who was staring at the door Vegeta had just left. "... Sorry about that. He can be difficult sometimes."

"Who... was _that?_" Lunch asked reverently.

"Vegeta. He tried to destroy Earth a while back... and somehow ended up living here," Bulma said, conveniently forgetting that she had been the one who insisted on it. "Oh, he acts grumpy but really he's okay."

"Really." Lunch couldn't forget the look in his eyes when he had shaken her hand. He didn't look grumpy, he looked sly. Like he was hiding something. She bet her guns he wasn't just another goodie-two shoes. He looked _interesting._

Even though she wasn't any close to her goal, Lunch left Capsule Corp. with a feeling of coming out from the rain. _Maybe... if I can't find Tenshinhan, maybe Vegeta would do._

OoO

After one and a half years, Vegeta's patience ran out. He'd learned enough about sensing _chi_; it was time to move on.

So he pulled Bulma aside and requested her help with some research. Vegeta was a bit wary, he'd noticed how he was starting to warm to her and wasn't sure if he had broken free of his timeline yet, but he knew it was the best course of action. Vegeta wanted to see just how fond she was of him, and he really could use her help. He had decided to read up on androids.

OoO

"This is the best one." Bulma slammed a hardcover book on the table. She had tried to place it down lightly but the book was so massive that she lost her grip.

Vegeta looked up from his notes with interest. "So you finally found it?"

"Sure did." Bulma wiped away a layer of dust off the cover. "The ultimate book on robotics. Eleventh edition with contributions from every great scientist of this century, including Dr. Gero."

"The one who's going to build the androids."

"Right." Bulma took a seat next to him. "So what exactly are we looking for?"

"Recent advances. Tell me how sophisticated the technology is right now and its potential."

"What does this have to do with fighting them?" Bulma was curious.

Vegeta shrugged. "Who knows?" he said, smiling ambiguously. "Maybe something helpful will turn up. In any case, we need every advantage we can get."

Bulma nodded and turned the pages with a delicate, almost caring touch. "Right, I guess here's the best place to start. There's two main kinds of bipedal androids: Total Artificial Construct Types and cyborgs. The biggest difference between the two is that T.A. are fully mechanical... cyborgs are built using a human base."

"And which one is superior?" Vegeta asked.

"That's up for debate. Since cyborgs were originally alive, it's a lot easier to program them to think independently," Bulma explained, "but the process of grafting biological matter to hardware is really time-consuming and easy to flub. And even if you manage to do it, since the android used to be alive... there's a chance it might..." Bulma cut herself off, shifting uncomfortably.

"Well?" Vegeta demanded after a few seconds. "A chance it might what? Out with it!"

Bulma looked faintly embarrassed. "Sorry, it's just a bit of an urban legend among the scientists and it creeps me out. There's this story about someone who tried to make _five _cyborgs at once. He did it... but when they woke up they were completely self aware."

"What happened?" Vegeta asked.

Bulma fidgeted. "Three of them just started destroying his lab. One turned to the scientist and strangled him. And one just stood in the middle of the room and screamed."

Vegeta frowned. "The scientist was killed?"

"Yeah."

"Then how did anyone hear about this?

"He had security cameras in the room. Apparently, they got the whole thing. The government swooped in and stole the tapes, saying they were classified, but the story got leaked."

Bulma was obviously disturbed by this legend but Vegeta's interest was already dwindling. Maybe you had to be a scientist to truly grasp the horror. Or maybe you just had to be too weak to defend yourself if your creations ever turned on you. It sounded more like a parable anyways.

"... Getting back on topic, what about Gero?" Vegeta leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. "What was his preferred type? Androids or cyborgs?"

"I'm not too sure..." Bulma muttered, flipping through the book. "All of his creations were pure androids but the most recent paper he published was on something called an 'Infinite Energy Drive'..." Her eyes widened as she scanned paragraphs of text. "... Oh my god."

"What?" Vegeta tried to read the book over Bulma's shoulder but it was written in scientific bunk so he just waited for her translation.

"Don't fight these things." Bulma shook her head. "Don't even try. I don't know how strong that Freeza guy was but if Dr. Gero succeeds in making an infinite energy drive... the androids could have as much potential energy as the sun. And robots don't get tired or hurt. Please don't fight them. It'll be a death sentence."

But Vegeta was barely listening. His heart had already kicked up a notch at "Infinite Energy Drive" and he could barely suppress the grin that was threatening to betray his excitement. They didn't get tired or hurt? He'd focus on his endurance and strength training. And what about _chi_? The philosophy was that all _living _things gave off a certain amount of energy but mechanical ones? Vegeta wasn't too sure. He made a mental note to not rely on sensing _chi_ _too _much. He could already tell that becoming too reliant on sensing _chi_ could be a problem... he must not neglect his eyesight.

So even as Bulma decided with finality that the robots were too strong and all was lost, Vegeta's mind was bursting with new ideas for his regimen.

Infinite energy, eh? Bring it on.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Vegeta was so busy studying and just all around preparing for the fight that the time flew by. Suddenly, he looked up and realized that it was one year and nine months since Trunks's appearance. So far, all was going according to plan: he had grown tremendously in mind, body and spirit, ascended, and most importantly, _not_ been seduced by Bulma...

They were alone in the library yet again. Vegeta had gotten what he came for but he wasn't finished. If he missed anything that could have been useful... if any source or fact slipped past him... he had failed as a martial artist. _Know thine enemy._ Vegeta never let down his guard both in battle and in academics. He was fortunate enough to have been granted this time to prepare, and he would be damned if he didn't take two extra days to sift through all the information one last time.

But as the hours passed in focused silence, Vegeta realized that he had found all there was to find, which admittedly wasn't much. He was _pretty _such that Gero was making cyborgs and he was almost certain that it was impossible to feel their _chi_, but it was all just speculation. Well... it was better this way. Vegeta wanted to beat them with his own strength, not because he'd discovered their ultimate weakness. No one liked taking advantages of weaknesses more than him, but this battle wasn't for play. There would be time for that later, after Kakarrot was out of the way. But right now... this was a matter of _pride_.

(Although, they didn't seem to have any weaknesses at all. According to Bulma, their infinite energy drives could power them for thousands of years, at least, and they didn't lose stamina. Hmph. He would just have to break them.)

"That's it for tonight," Vegeta said, closing the book. "Don't bother coming back tomorrow."

Bulma was already getting up to go. "Really? Why not?"

Vegeta was curious at the disappointment in her voice. "Because I don't think there's anything else to find... why are you surprised? It's been weeks and we've made little progress," he said, on the cusp of bewilderment and getting up as well. "It's done."

Bulma frowned and took out a cigarette, fumbling with her lighter. "You know, I really liked getting to spend this time with you," she said after a long pause. She looked at him, eyes expectant and bright.

"Yeah, and?" Vegeta said, barely paying attention as he wrestled with the sheaves of paper.

"…" Bulma frowned… but after a second she shook her head. "Nothing. See you later."

The second the door closed behind her, Vegeta's eyes narrowed. "Cow," he muttered. Who did she think she was?

It almost killed him to leave her alive, after that, but he might need her mind later on. At the very least, it wasn't worth his cover being blown. Kakarrot, as simple-minded as he was, had such a strong moral sense that Vegeta knew he would smell a rat if Bulma just _spontaneously _disappeared.

But still. "Nothing"? He was insulted just on the grounds that anyone thought him that oblivious. He could almost taste the desperation and lust on her skin heavy and stifling like an unwashed fur coat. Disgusting. She couldn't even follow through with her desires. She just gave up when she sensed his disinterest. He hadn't pegged her to be that timid... in fact, it was downright uncharacteristic...

…

Which probably meant that this wasn't the end. Earthlings couldn't stand unresolved sexual tension, one-sided or not.

Vegeta still stood with his arms full of notes, too sickened to leave just yet. Though she still didn't have a clue about him, he knew Bulma's ways. She flirted outrageously with every half-decent looking man who was unlucky enough to cross her path. She jumped from lover to lover, tiring of each of them quickly. She always looked for her next victim. But Vegeta wasn't like the rest. She couldn't have him.

Standing in the dusty library, a chill suddenly ran down his spine. What if he hadn't purposefully shut her down, but instead listened? Would she have asked to go out with him?

Vegeta's blood seemed to freeze in his veins as he realized what could have been the start of the chain of events that led to Trunks being conceived. His eyes widened in horror. He could see exactly how it would play out: he got to know Bulma, she grew on him enough that he spent more and more time with her, they slept together. Vegeta either got distracted by the idea of fatherhood or kept seeing Bulma, either way his discipline slackened. Even the way he was now, if he didn't continuously train his mind and body, they would fall out of practice. Come the androids, he was not sharp anymore and they tear through him easily. Like a bullet through a wet sheet of paper.

If Bulma pulled that again, Vegeta was going to let her have it. Useful or not, advance on him again and she would die.

But he made it past the first test. Vegeta had spent literal days agonizing. Would spending time with Bulma awaken desires in him that he had never known of? Would even the knowledge of the future not be enough to stop him? He knew the answer now... there was never any danger. He felt nothing for Bulma.

And now there was nothing that could distract him from his goal.

Five months later

(10 months until the androids)

Vegeta was outside for the first time in weeks on a field trip. Back in the day, he would never even consider relenting on his training but now he was starting to get the feeling that resting is good. Oh, he wasn't slacking off. His breaks were strictly monitored and, to be honest, few and far between. But the body needs to breathe once in a while. Having spent generations in cramped spaceships, the Saiyan race evolved to regard the sun as something of a dentist appointment. To remain healthy, a typical Saiyan only needed exposure to natural light once every few months.

Vegeta planned to spend at least half of the day outside. He had chosen a great, sprawling forest that seemed completely uninhabited. He'd catch some fish, get used to normal gravity, and just breathe in the clean air.

There. That was the place.

Vegeta landed and scanned the terrain. Close to the heart of the forest, a few feet from a river. "This one," he muttered. This spot would do.

The river was about twenty or thirty feet wide, wide enough to have some very big fish. He'd start by catching one for lunch... he could cook it with his _chi_... after he might follow the river to the sea...

"Hey! Heeeey!" A shrill voice interrupted his plans. Vegeta closed his eyes and his head dropped a fraction of an inch. He hadn't bothered to check if anyone was around. Why should he? This place was hundreds of miles away from even the most rural of settlements. So naturally, he had been found within the first five seconds of touching down.

So far, the day was off to a start worthy of Earth.

Vegeta slowly turned around, shoulders tense. There was a small Earthling boy standing in front of him, about ten years of age, brown hair and freckles. Boring.

"Did you just fly?!" the kid shrieked, voice grating terribly on Vegeta's ears. Annoying.

He crossed his arms. He was _not _in the mood to deal with the tedious locals, today of all days. He wanted so badly to just kill the whelp and be done with it... but Earth was off limits... for now.

"..." Oh, what did he care about pretending he was weak? "Yes."

The kid's jaw dropped and he didn't say anything for a long time. Mindless. Vegeta spotted a five foot long fish swimming by, snatched it out of the water and started a fire as the kid blinked. Hopefully he'd just _leave_.

When Vegeta looked up from the cooking fish, the kid was a lot more calm and was eyeing him unabashedly.

...Brave? Or foolish?

"Are you an alien?" the boy asked bluntly. He seemed curious rather than terrified or shocked. Earthlings were so... adaptable.

Vegeta blew out the fire. "Yeah."

The kid jumped up and down. "I knew it! Do you fight bad guys?"

"I guess you could say that..." Vegeta was getting annoyed. Kid should learn to keep his nose out of other people's business.

"C-O-O-L! I'm gonna show you to Mom and Dad." The boy marched over to Vegeta. "I've never met an alien before!"

His novelty was wearing off fast. "Sorry... uh... sport," Vegeta said. "The alien's busy. Move along."

The kid glared and grabbed Vegeta's arm. "Come on, stupid... MOVE!"

That did it. Vegeta flicked his wrist and sent the child splashing into the river. Vegeta wasn't going to kill him with his own hands... it wasn't quite time for that yet. This way, there was a chance that the kid would get carried to wherever his parents were camping before he drowned, but Vegeta doubted it... especially with that broken arm.

Vegeta ate roasted fish and listened to the birds, the wind rustling the tree leaves, and the little boy's screams as the current dragged him under.

OoO

Two weeks later, Vegeta was still in the forest.

At the end of the first day, he had been getting ready to go. The dusky sky- dim, hard to see by. He couldn't find his gloves. As he searched for them by the light of his Super aura, he contemplated how long he could stay a Super Saiyan. He still hadn't dared to try again after the first day. There were too many things that could go wrong- people that could be killed... collateral damage... loss of trust... but most importantly, loss of control.

Vegeta eyed his surroundings. He could do practically anything here and no one would ever know. He had time.

Why not?

Vegeta would later look back on his time in the forest with new respect for the wisdom of his past self. There, in one of the most remote corners of the world, he had been safe to venture into shadowy boundaries of his _chi. _They had appeared when Vegeta first ascended, and he hadn't gone near them since. When he was Super for a day, for just an instant out of the whole day... he had caught the smallest glimpse of this new force... just an instant, but he remembered it and it disturbed him...

It reminded Vegeta of when he was a small child, still unable to keep his rational mind when in the giant ape form.

It was black and numb, in stark contrast to the screaming bright of being a Super Saiyan.

It was an alien entity, separate from his own energy, yet still within him. That day, he could feel it reaching out to him, vying for his attention. He didn't know what it would do to him... he didn't know if he could control it.

It made him nervous.

There was no room for uncertainties anymore. Vegeta packed up everything he had brought, able to leave at a moment's notice... relaxed into the floating lotus position... and went into a trance.

After sixteen hours exactly, the darkness found him.

It told him of the Moment.

Two Earth months later, Vegeta resurfaced.

He didn't remember.

But he discovered a tiny chink in the seemingly invincible Super Saiyan armor: it just used too much energy. It was a short-term weapon, not a natural state.

It took Vegeta a day of constant eating to get back his strength, but he came away with information.

Good.

OoO

Vegeta could easily keep track of the Earth as it spun beneath him, even at speeds far greater than any his past self could even conceive of. Everything -even the tiny green veins on the leaves- was laid bare for his pleasure as he rocketed towards West City.

Being a Super Saiyan was glorious.

So was the way his shadow stretched in front of him to touch the threshold of Capsule Corp. The livid sky said it was around seven. Good- it was past supper, so he should be able to eat quickly in solitude before heading off to the gravity room.

Vegeta couldn't help but grin as he strode inside. The warmest sense of peace was sneaking up on him. He imagined the dull mass of outer space, background to his childhood. Soon he would return with nothing left of Earth except memories and ash.

He couldn't wait. Walking to his room, he remembered himself for the first time in a while. He felt _happy._

Of course, that couldn't last.

Vegeta had barely set foot in the door before Bulma materialized.

"Where were you?"

"Out in the woods. I told you, did I not?" Vegeta said, rummaging through his drawers for a change of clothes.

"Yeah, you said you'd be gone for the day. In case you haven't noticed, it's been _two months!_"

"Thanks for telling me," Vegeta snapped, his good mood officially shattered. His muttered answers to her questions actually mattered? "And what's with the familiar tone?" She sounded like… a wife…

"I was just..." Bulma crossed her arms. "Worried, that's all."

"_You were worried?_" This had officially reached a new level of stupidity. "What could you _possibly _have to worry about? That I'd get attacked by one of your 'bears'? Maybe fall in a river?" Like the boy. "Oh, I know. You were scared that I'd breathe the _wrong air_. Doesn't that happen to humans?"

Bulma frowned. "Only in places with high altitude." Okay, maybe she hadn't quite used her brain for once. "Look, I'm just glad you're back." He was looking at her in that way again. His black eyes stared nervelessly right back at her, like two coals.

As she met his gaze Vegeta froze, an unpleasant feeling sitting heavy in his stomach. It was strange that Bulma was meeting his gaze... normally she got flustered and looked away... in fact, the only other time had been... in the library...

He always looked at Bulma like that, with all this intensity. She thought she finally understood what he was trying to tell her.

Vegeta unknowingly registered how much more confident she looked now than before. Maybe she had just gotten a good review on one of her crackpot inventions. Oh, what did he care? More importantly, should he let the citizens of Earth live in terror, not knowing when he'd finish them off, or should he just put this planet behind him? Hmmmm...

Bulma drummed her fingers on the door frame. Rats, she was losing him. She wasn't going to chicken out like she had in the library. She had to meet him more than halfway on this. But how to begin? Bulma knew from experience to be careful or else Vegeta would withdraw. Hmmmm…

Vegeta could get behind frankness. Matter-of-fact it was. "Vegeta, we've known each other for a while now, and there's this... all this _tension_... I want to get rid of it."

"Hm?" Vegeta was snapped away from pulsating scarlet visions of Kakarrot and remembered himself. Since when was he so distracted?

Bulma rolled her eyes. Why was he so fidgety tonight? Looks like words weren't going to cut it. She leaned forward, not breaking eye-contact, until Vegeta could feel her breath on his face. His back stiffened.

Slowly, carefully, Bulma placed a hand on his chest. Vegeta's eyes flicked from it to her face. He was stiller than Bulma thought was possible, save for his heart, frantically beating against her palm. She tried not to smile. He was so shy.

Vegeta must not kill her. He couldn't, not until he was _absolutely certain _that he was the strongest. He saw the healthy glow of her skin, could practically feel the warm blood pumping through her, begging to escape. _No. Not yet. _He had to talk his way out of this. "Bulma, I'm not-"

Bulma had felt his heated stares; she knew what he really wanted. She definitely knew what she wanted. Eyes half closed, Bulma softly met her lips with his.

Broken strings snapped strings puppet grabbing at him HATE HATE HATE

Vegeta's willpower broke. Like a devastating wave, the Super Saiyan crested over his rational self… power exploded out from him, the shock wave sending Bulma crashing against the wall… the lights flickered off, leaving only Vegeta's flaming aura to light the hall…

"_LEARN YOUR PLACE, EARTHLING,"_ Vegeta snarled in a voice so distorted by fury that Bulma didn't recognize it. "I don't care if Kakarrot finds out, touch me again and I am going to _gut you."_

Bulma cowered against the wall, too paralyzed with terror to move. Oh god oh god oh god who _was _he? What had gone wrong?

Was he going to _kill her?_

Seeing her fear started to melt Vegeta's anger. Good... she had stopped looking at him... _that way_... she might just make it out alive… Vegeta wanted to save her death as a celebration after he had gotten rid of Kakarrot… and her fear placated him.

It was only right that such a lesser being be reduced to this in front of him.

To Bulma's near-indecent relief, the manic energy in Vegeta's eyes faded along with his hair. He was calming down. Ha ha, of course he wasn't going to _kill _her! He was Vegeta, all bark and no bite. But still…

"N-n-never d-do that again." Bulma got up, unsteady on shaking legs. "V-Vegeta, you can't just-"

"Shut up." Vegeta punched her face just hard enough and Bulma dropped. Frontal lobe stores short-term memory. All it took was a little tap and Bulma would forget this whole scene.

Vegeta looked at Bulma's prone figure and sighed. He was almost too tired to note that this was probably when they had slept together in Trunks's timeline. He wanted off of this planet. But he was bound by Kakarrot's mere existence. He wanted to leave right now. Instead, he had to get Bulma to a doctor before she died in her sleep.

Saving lives instead of ending them still felt unnatural, but what else could he do? Vegeta threw Bulma over his shoulder and started walking down the hallway. Maybe he could tell them that she was distracted and hit her head on a wrench or something. Anything to get him back to his room so he could take a shower and wash all filthy traces of her away.

By the time Vegeta finally got the knack of telling apart good _chi_ from bad _chi_, he still had half a year left. He spent most of his days meditating in 300 G's. At that point, all he was doing was maintaining his strength so he wasn't soft when the time came to fight. When you're in a trance, time passes differently- much slower, but also all at once. Your body feeds off of its own energy and you don't need food or water.

Then it was the morning of May 12th. It was time. Vegeta had never done so much to prepare for a single fight. If he failed, that simply meant he never had a chance to begin with.

But Vegeta wasn't failing.

OoO

"You idiot!" Son Goku exclaimed. "Why did you tag along?"

"To watch, of course!" Bulma said indignantly. Were they expecting her to just stay home with her parents, hoping the world didn't get turned to dust? Besides, she didn't come all the way to this remote island just to turn back. "Don't worry, I'll go home as soon as I get a look at the androids."

Goku scratched his head. "Well, all right. Hey, don't you have some news?"

"Huh?" Bulma arched an eyebrow. "What in the world are you talking about?"

"You know," Goku whispered, "about the baby?"

"What baby?" Kuririn cried, overhearing. "Bulma, are you _pregnant_?"

"What? No. _No. _Of course not," Bulma said, bewildered. Had Goku lost it?

Goku, as a matter of fact, was asking himself that same question. Trunks should be about a year old by now. What had happened? He glanced at Piccolo, a question in his eyes. The Namekian shook his head. No, he hadn't told anyone who Trunks's parents were. So what went wrong?

After a second, Goku shrugged it off. His usual method. They had bigger things to worry about.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

_I_

_lost_

_No_

_How could this happen_

_I had one shot and I..._

_I..._

_I blew it_

_Damn those androids to hell, they did this to me_

_I hate them_

_Hate them so much_

_How could I have lost? I was a blasted SUPER SAIYAN!_

_I've had it up to here with this planet... but I can't leave... not now, of all times... I have too much unfinished business... I'm trapped..._

_DAMN THEM!_

Vegeta opened his eyes.

He was in the middle of a massive pile of rubble. He trembled in midair as he reviewed the most humiliating fight of his life. He had been so confident... what a complete _idiot _he must have looked. And both his arms... smashed. Unconscious... the power that he had worked himself almost to death to earn beaten out of him... within five minutes... _nnnh_... He needed to calm down before he did some real damage. He must remember to still his heart... even though it was so _hard _sometimes... but a still heart brought clear thoughts... yes... it wasn't the end of the world... he was just _missing_ something, that was all. There was no way any scrap of Earthling technology could possibly be superior to his power. He just needed to _think_.

The... the female android wasn't that much stronger than Vegeta... it was her infinite supply of energy that clinched his defeat. Normally, he wouldn't have taken it so hard. His ego would be bruised, maybe... but he would pick himself up off the ground and train until all the energy in the world wouldn't save her. That was how it had always been.

But the disturbing thing about his loss was that _he had been a Super Saiyan_. According to the legend, they were the _ultimate _power. No exceptions.

What was he missing...? Did he just need to spend some more time in the gravity room? Not likely... even after three solid years of training, he was just about tapped out. He had found how far artificial gravity could get you.

So then... something more extreme was needed... Vegeta suddenly thought of Freeza and his three forms. No good... Freeza had been born into that power, hadn't earned it, there was nothing Vegeta could learn from him...

... Hold off...

_Three _forms.

There was a level beyond the Super Saiyan. The legend wasn't wrong... it was just _incomplete._

Of course, there was no evidence to back this theory up... but for some reason, Vegeta suddenly didn't feel so hopeless... and he trusted his instincts. He just needed _time _to figure out how to ascend again.

Either way, he couldn't give up yet.

Later, in a different desert with different thoughts and new troubles, the kid found him. He wanted to train together. Vegeta refused. Just being near Trunks set his teeth on edge. He was a path not taken, one that would have stripped Vegeta of all that he stood for.

But then he learned of the Room of Spirit and Time and he had no choice but to accept. A whole year to train was exactly what he needed. And this time... _he _would be the first to ascend.

OoO

"HYAAAAHH!" Trunks, still staggering from Vegeta's onslaught of blows, was struck square in the face with a ball of _chi_. Even as he flew through the air, Vegeta skipped around behind and got ready to jump up and smash him to the ground. The instant before they collided, Trunks twisted around in midair and blocked.

They both dropped to the ground. Vegeta couldn't help but smile as he felt the rush of adrenaline that only a worthy opponent could bring.

"Good!" He grinned at Trunks. "I'm impressed by your vigilance... you didn't expect me to wait for you. That's one of the cardinal conventions of battle: _do not let down your guard. _I have to say, you've surprised me! I may be able to beat this softness out of you yet."

Trunks, breathing heavily, managed a smile. "Thanks... dad."

And just like that, a shadow passed behind Vegeta's eyes. "What did I say about calling me that?" he growled. _Hmph_... just when he was starting to have some fun... and to think... he just about to start a _lesson. _Pity... the boy would have to learn the hard way. That was one of the problems with Earthlings... they just didn't know when to stop talking...

"Oh, come on!" Trunks said in exasperation, blissfully unaware. "When are you gonna stop lying to yourself? I look like you..."

"So they say," Vegeta muttered, crossing his arms.

"..._And_ I can go Super Saiyan! My father was the Saiyan Prince who decided to stay on Earth after getting raised from the dead on planet Namek. Sound familiar?"

Vegeta took a deep, even breath in. "No, your father was a stagnant wretch who lacked discipline and lost his life because of it. I, on the other hand, never even _considered _stooping so low as to sleep with an _Earthling_ and I _never will. _You should be thankful you're still alive, brat, safe in your separate timeline. I may be many things, but I am not your father and _you are not my son._" He bared his teeth.

Trunks looked away. "... Can we take a break now?" The last thing he wanted to do was to keep sparring with Vegeta.

"No. Again."

Trunks had no choice but to oblige. Vegeta was the stronger of the two.

Even though he whined and was much too soft, the mongrel was a good sparring partner. With that and the conditions of the Room, Vegeta was getting stronger again. It was only a matter of time before he achieved the next level of Super Saiyan... but there was no time to relax. He still had a lot of ground to cover. He still had to go further.

OoO

After trying, futile though it was, to wash off all the blood, Trunks lay awake in bed. The training schedule that Vegeta had set for them was _inhumane_. Six hours' sleep, wake up to a few measly handfuls of rice, then sparring for three hours.

Trunks couldn't sleep.

He had been Earth's finest warrior back home... the last breath of a doomed planet... and now he was spending his days being pushed around under the boiling hot sun by Vegeta. Trunks was no fool... he knew the older Saiyan could kill him if he wanted to... their strength was about even but Vegeta's mature fighting style had an incredible finesse to it that left absolutely no openings and he was ruthless in a way that Trunks could never be. But that wasn't exactly it...

Trunks had spent so much of his life wondering about his father, everything from if he drank coffee or tea to what was the last thing he thought about before he fell asleep. It was an understatement to say that it had been a shock to meet Vegeta- they had been living all alone together for months and Trunks still knew nothing about him. Vegeta didn't seem to have any desire to connect with other people.

They shared DNA... but they weren't related.

Vegeta had told him time and time again that he wasn't his father, and Trunks finally believed him. Never before had he felt so out of place. He was in the wrong timeline, and the man sleeping next to him wasn't his dad. Sure, he gave Trunks tips on how to fight better but Trunks got the feeling that they weren't for his own benefit. Vegeta pushed him harder than he'd ever gone before, yet barely took the time to wait when Trunks fell behind. Trunks knew that he was just a tool for Vegeta to get more profane strength... and nothing else.

Trunks meekly did what Vegeta said because the older Saiyan would probably win in a fight. But he mostly obeyed because he was scared: scared of what Vegeta would do if he survived Cell, scared of what he was hiding in the dark from everyone.

His trip to the past hadn't been a complete waste of time. Trunks had realized just how lucky they were that his father's life had ended with the androids. For the first time ever, he wanted to go back home.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"You'll _pass?_ You won't use the Room again?" Piccolo and Kakarrot's conversation piqued Vegeta's interest and he quietly stepped closer...

"That's what I said." Kakarrot's voice still hadn't lost that eerie calm it had acquired since he got out of the Room. Perhaps making the Super Saiyan form your natural state had more side-effects than Vegeta had seen from his two-month sampling.

"Why?" Piccolo asked. "You still have another day before you've used all your time."

"It's pretty rough in there, even if you're not doing anything," Kakarrot said. "I'll do better resting my body."

"Really?" Vegeta asked, curious. "You don't think the Room would help?"

Kakarrot shook his head. "Nah. Maybe if I had more time to rest first, but right now I'd just be torturing myself. I'd probably get _weaker_." Kakarrot turned to Piccolo and the others. "I've got nothing against you guys using the Room, though. You've probably still got room to improve." He then addressed Vegeta. "What about you, Vegeta?"

"Hm?" Vegeta looked up. "What about me?"

"What are you gonna do? I don't think it's the best idea for you to use the room, either."

"Maybe not," he shrugged. Kakarrot had a point. Perhaps Vegeta had been too hasty to reserve the Room first. A whole year back in that place... there was only so much he could do at this point, especially training on his own. Yeah, Kakarrot was right. Neither of them needed to use the room again.

"Wow, I think you're almost as strong as me!" Kakarrot said. "Why didn't you make the Super Saiyan your natural state?"

"... Haven't you sensed it?" Vegeta asked. "You can't keep it up forever... It may seem a good idea at first, but the Super Saiyan state is too taxing for us to handle long-term... you could end up shortening your lifespan by years, at the very least." He purposefully left out how he found out. He refused to revisit those two months, so far in the past now... when he had lost control.

"No way," Kakarrot gasped. "_Years?_ Man, you've already been there, huh, Vegeta." He scratched his head and then said brightly, "Oh well! We'll see for ourselves how bad it is. Hey, wanna come fishing with me and Gohan?"

Vegeta gaped at him. "You must be joking." He jumped off the edge of the palace. He'd had enough. He was going back to Capsule Corp. Did Kakarrot really think that just because Vegeta gave him a piece of advice, they were friends? The year in the Room had made Vegeta forget Kakarrot's staggering naïvety. Being the strongest let you get away with so much...

Because he was stronger than Vegeta. Not by as huge a margin as on Namek, but he was stronger. It wasn't good enough. And Vegeta knew that he couldn't challenge Kakarrot to a rematch just yet. This wasn't the right time. Vegeta had to come up with a way to close the gap between their powers. But he was so tired...

He touched down outside Capsule Corp. and barely managed to stumble up to his room before he dropped off to sleep, not waking for nine days.

OoO

Vegeta regained consciousness just in time to wolf down some food and change clothes before it was time to go.

At the Cell Game, he stood off to the side in silence, watching and listening. He wouldn't be able to win against Cell one-on-one. Although he was far from happy about it, he decided to just see how it played out.

He was stunned when Kakarrot sent Gohan to fight, but but not as much as when Gohan actually held his own.

He defeated the spawn Cell sent after him easily enough.

And it all fell apart when Kakarrot died.

He couldn't move. He couldn't think. He could hardly force the air through his lungs.

This was unprecedented. Vegeta hadn't even _considered _that Kakarrot might die before they got their fight. He was _Kakarrot! _It was his destiny to die by Vegeta's hand, and... he went and killed himself. Why couldn't he have just let Cell destroy the planet? Vegeta would rather have oblivion that this. How was he supposed to kill everyone and return to space without first having proven himself superior to Kakarrot once and for all? In saving Vegeta's life, Kakarrot killed him. He killed him but left him in his physical body. How was Vegeta supposed to live like this?

Sensing something, Vegeta looked up. He gave a rueful laugh, realizing the answer. He wasn't going to live after all. He was going to die very, very soon.

Because Cell was still alive. That damn Kakarrot couldn't even see past his own nobility long enough to make sure he was actually doing the job.

Vegeta noticed Trunks's body on the ground with a dark hole in the chest. Looks like Cell already got started. At least it saved Vegeta the trouble of doing it himself.

Cell finally finished bragging about how it survived and now it and Gohan were sizing each other up. As Gohan jumped at Cell, Vegeta marveled again at how much power the kid had. If there was anyone who could take on Cell, it was him. Not even Vegeta could begrudge him that. Gohan's power made even Kakarrot look like a common brawler in comparison...

... But was he rival material? Could surpassing Gohan mark the end of Earth instead of Kakarrot? Vegeta felt just a little bit lighter.

But Vegeta's faint smile faded as Cell started charging the biggest blast he had ever seen in his life. What was he thinking? Now wasn't the time for such thoughts. He needed to focus on surviving this battle first. But there was no place for him now. All Vegeta could do was... _hope... _that Gohan won. He was reduced to that.

Gohan started making a Kamehameha, but Vegeta could already tell that Cell's was superior. Gohan would have to break through the shield of _chi_ in front of Cell before he even had the chance to damage it.

The two blasts collided and Vegeta shielded his eyes from the brilliant light. How could anything possibly breach that wall of energy? It was more solid than a ten foot thick wall of adamantine.

But Cell's blast was only protecting his front. His sides and back were left completely exposed. Of course, it didn't have to worry about the _lesser beings _in the aft, there was nothing they could throw at it that would even scratch its skin. And that was before its Saiyan power-up. The only threat was Gohan. None of the rest of them had hurt Cell in this form.

Except once. The time Vegeta had been so sure he'd had Cell beat, the time Vegeta hit it with his Final Flash and blown away a quarter of its body. But it had regenerated...

Vegeta suddenly remembered a line from Cell's speech...

"... A small cluster of cells in my head. It makes up my 'core'. If that cluster isn't destroyed, my body can go on regenerating even if only microscopic pieces remain."

_Aim for the head._

Slowly, carefully, Vegeta drifted towards Cell and Gohan. Part of it was because he didn't want to be noticed, but mostly he didn't want to break the spell of his insight. But before he could get any farther, Kuririn grabbed his arm.

"Vegeta, stop!" he yelled over the howling wind. "Do you want to get yourself killed?!"

"Out of my way." Vegeta punched him in the gut, and in an instant Kuririn was doubled over, gasping for breath. Vegeta didn't know how close he had come to killing the smaller fighter. And even if he did, he wouldn't have cared. No more distractions. He needed to hurry... Gohan was already losing ground.

Vegeta brought his hands together and started gathering all his _chi_. He had destroyed Cell's body before, but would it work now that it had gotten so much stronger?

Vegeta was at full power. The fight with the miniature Cell had been a warm up... he had more than enough time to catch his breath... and, as Vegeta felt the great artesian pool of energy stir inside him, he realized that his nine days of unconsciousness hadn't been mere sleep. His body hadn't been hurt, but his year in the harsh Room had slowly been draining away his energy. In sleep, Vegeta got all of it back. And Saiyans weren't only limited to gaining more _physical _power from wounds. Vegeta may not be stronger, but his stores of energy held more.

And energy was just what _chi_ blasts needed.

"GYAAAAHH!"

Just before Gohan gave out, Vegeta's blast overtook Cell. The attack was big, bigger than the monster, but Vegeta made sure that the very heart of the blast caught it square in the side of its head.

Cell's eyes bugged as it turned to Vegeta, but it was too late. Its head turned to ash in the heat of a blast powerful enough to detonate the sun. And in the next second, Gohan's own Kamehameha swallowed Cell, vapourizing the rest of its body. The ground trembled and cracked under the force of the explosion- and then peace. All that hung in the air was silence and the burnt smell of boiled ichor.

Gohan looked at Vegeta in wonder and offered a small smile of gratitude. Vegeta looked away and shook his head. From that moment on, Son Gohan was Vegeta's new target and he couldn't accept his thanks.

OoO

And then Vegeta was slowly cracking. He barely slept. He couldn't remember the last time he had been outside. All he knew anymore was the cold gravity room. His saving grace had been the reminder that _he _had been the one that took Cell down, but that had been a year ago.

He could never completely empty his mind anymore. To do so, you need to have made peace with your thoughts. Vegeta was too busy avoiding them to know what they were. All he knew was that they came whenever he overheard Bulma talking about Goten or Gohan, or when anyone looked at him.

They made his chest hurt.

Vegeta trained more viciously than he ever had. That was the only time he could get any sort of peace- when he couldn't get enough air into his lungs, when his muscles strained with the effort of obeying him, when his head and heart pounded in tandem, when he was sure the only thing keeping him still standing was his willpower.

That was when Vegeta lived.

But then one day Vegeta looked up and saw the distorted faces on the walls. He had to leave. On the front step of Capsule Corp., he picked a direction and took off. He drifted for three days and three nights, flying even through sleep. And he opened the doors to his mind.

Vegeta found himself greeted by an ancient Saiyan verse, one that he had not thought of in years...

_There is no strength in numbers_

_Only strength in strength_

_Power is an entity_

_That goes to any length_

_Who fights to end the war?_

_We fight to laugh and win_

_For those who battle and endure_

_Need not take heed of sin_

_Power is a blessing_

_Power is a curse_

_For those that wield it do not ride_

_But drive the final hearse_

He had forgotten what it meant to have power. _Power wasn't just physical strength._ Physical strength was a critical part of Vegeta's life... perhaps too much so. It had long since dominated his perspective, blinding him to the fact that it was merely a means to an end. True power? True power was control.

And then Vegeta knew what thoughts had been nagging him. All those times he acquiesced to Mrs. Briefs' petty demands... how he constantly had to refrain from committing an act of violence for fear of Gohan finding out... how he had stayed on Earth for years longer than he had planned... who had control over who, now?

_He was just fortifying the Earthling's power over him!_

Vegeta couldn't stay on Earth. It would be months still before he was strong enough to exact his revenge. He was getting older- he was already in his early thirties. While Vegeta's body was nowhere near the throes of decline, his mind was slowing down... ignoring important details... getting lazy... and all prematurely.

How much of that was because of the slow life on Earth? Vegeta had wanted to beat Kakarrot first so badly... but the need to escape the Earthlings' cage had officially eclipsed his pride. He didn't even have Kakarrot anymore. He had _Son Gohan._ Son Gohan, who's heart and soul belonged to erudition instead of battle. Son Gohan, a traitor worse than his father.

Well, he would cool his heels no longer.

He was free.

Vegeta cast a smug look at the mountains looming in front of him before turning on his heel and blasting off West. Kakarrot's death made it simpler to walk away, and Vegeta felt not the faintest trace of regret or frustration on the flight back. He was _free_. And best of all, he had freed himself.

Going full tilt as a Super Saiyan, it took Vegeta only five minutes to reach the City of the West. The only question was, what would he occupy himself with while Briefs built his spaceship out of here?

Vegeta touched down on the neatly mown grass of Capsule Corp. The lawn glowed an unnatural fluorescent green in the setting sun. Lots of Earthling products and materials were stretched, dyed and injected to look more appealing than they actually were. Vegeta couldn't blame the fantasy- growing up not knowing anything other than _Earth _must be wretched.

Vegeta swiped his key card in the lock and the doors slid open. "You there," he barked at a passing drone. "Send word to Briefs. I want him down here in no less than five minutes. And don't make me wait." With a beep of acknowledgment, the robot took off, leaving Vegeta to pace the lobby. He looked out the window, wondering what West City would look like on fire. The buildings were mostly made of concrete, but all the petrol floating around in the hovercars would ignite nicely. Flying pyres. The smoke would blot out the sun and cast an orange haze over everything. And the _people. _It had been so long, much too long, since he had seen mass panic. He remembered the unique harmony of thousands of screams mixing, how some of the more dim-witted ones didn't try to run away, just stood with mouths gaping.

Vegeta wanted to see it _now_. How long to wait before he returned to Earth? He should learn at least five new techniques before he could even consider coming back. Let them think he was gone for good first... it would be more fun that way. He could almost see the shock on Gohan's face, so similar to Kakarrot's... then would come the pain. The sweetest part.

Vegeta was too busy with his iniquitous fantasies to notice the unfamiliar _chi _before it burst into the lobby. He looked up at the sound of the door opening, just as the blonde woman hopped up on the front desk.

"You're back," she said, looking pleased. She was wearing a black, knee-length dress and had narrow eyes that were vaguely feline.

"Is Briefs coming?" Vegeta mistook her for a personal assistant of some sort.

"Huh? I got nothing to do with that old coot," she said. "Do you remember me?"

Vegeta studied her. "Hmmm... you do look familiar... we've met before."

"The name's Lunch," she said. "I only saw you once. Back then... you looked like you were in a hurry, so I'm not surprised you forgot." She paused. "I need a word. You got a second?"

Vegeta considered. Briefs wasn't here yet... He was in a good mood, why not? It was so unheard of for him to get callers that Vegeta couldn't resist indulging his curiosity. "If you make it worth my while."

Lunch hopped off the desk and glanced around. She didn't want to be interrupted. Everything had to be perfect. She couldn't screw this up, not after Tenshinhan...

"I know your secret," she said.

Vegeta's eyebrows rose. "I don't know what you're talking about..."

"I know it. What you've been hiding."

"What I've been hiding...?" Vegeta was trying to decipher her tone of voice. So far, he didn't have anything.

"When I met you, I knew you were different. I asked around and I found out where you came from... but even before that I saw it in your eyes. You were sharp, untouched..." Lunch slowly gave Vegeta a once-over. "Still are. You're not like the rest of them, are you? You're just pretending to be. Underneath... you have the darkness."

Vegeta frowned.

"Don't bother denying it," Lunch said. "The expression on your face says it all." She took his hand. "Don't worry... I'm the same."

Vegeta crossed his arms and laughed. "You are, are you? So what? Why should I care?"

Lunch's eyes narrowed. Screw this. "You should care because if you don't do what I say, I'll tell Son Gohan the truth and he'll destroy you. I know he's stronger than you."

Vegeta stared at Lunch in disbelief. Who was this girl? What did she want? "And what would you have me do?"

Lunch smiled slyly. "Be my boyfriend. I've always wanted someone like you... someone with no morals. Someone untamed by society. Someone..." Out of nowhere, two pistols appeared in Lunch's hands. "... Who kills." She couldn't resist. Lunch leaned closer to him, until they were almost touching, letting her words sink in. She felt a current alive in the space between them. Chemistry. He must feel it too.

Vegeta played his eyes up and down her in amusement, free from the tension that two loaded guns normally brought. What an intriguing girl. Intriguing... but near-sighted. "You mentioned knowing where I came from... then you know that I'm not human... and I'm proud of it. Humans repulse me. So what makes you think I'd date one? Besides, I'm leaving Earth soon anyways. Good luck trying to get Gohan to hunt me down in deep space. Nice try."

Grrrr. This wasn't going the way Lunch had planned. How was he resisting her? "And how are you leaving?"

"Briefs is building me a spaceship." Or would be. Details.

Lunch snorted. "Then I'll just tell him! You'll be stuck here."

"True... I can't survive in space long enough to make it to the nearest habitable planet..." Vegeta turned away thoughtfully, leading her on. It was insulting how she thought he would consider being not only with an Earthling, but with one of such obvious low intelligence. "However... don't you see the flaw in your plan?"

"Huh? Flaw?"

"I mean, besides the fact that you've given me an ultimatum to date you... which is just pathetic... but with regards to your so-called 'threat'." Vegeta turned back, eyes shining with amusement. "I can tell you're just an ordinary human. You try to sound tough, but you couldn't survive 10 G's. Now _I, _on the other hand," Vegeta leaned in close until they were almost touching. "... I could kill you before you shift your weight to leave. Might be a little hard to get the word out in time, hmmm?"

"But can't you see that we're the same?" Lunch burst out. "We can help each other! I hate all those holier-than-thou preachers, too. You don't have to be alone anymore."

"'Have to'? I chose to," Vegeta snapped. He could feel her trying to pander to him and it irritated him. "If I wanted a wife, I would have married Bulma." Not exactly true, but it seemed like it would get the point across to this thickheaded she-human more easily. "I was in a good mood before... but now, I think I'll kill you regardless of what you were planning to do." Vegeta would figure out the repercussions later. Now, this girl had woken up his thirst for blood. It had been too long... up until now, Vegeta had restrained himself, fearing Son Gohan. But he was free now. And he was hungry.

Lunch's heart kicked up when she saw the look in Vegeta's eyes. She knew a bluff when she saw one, and _he was serious. _"They'll find out if you kill me!" she blurted. "I'm friends with Gohan and the others."

Vegeta shook his head and laughed. "Huh. And here I thought there'd be no chance of that... considering I haven't heard one mention of you during the five years I've lived here..." Vegeta placed a hand between them, smiling. "But I guess I'll risk it anyway."

For the first time, tears ran down the blonde Lunch's face. She couldn't move. This was supposed to be the moment that changed her life. She was supposed to have finally dragged herself out of the crummy, boring relationships that had plagued her for years. And she was going to die. _I'm sorry, sis, _she thought as Vegeta's hand started to glow. _Sorry I dragged you down with me. _There was no reply. The only time black-haired Lunch existed was after a sneeze.

The girl who had looked at him with such _reverence_ became a pile of carpet-sweepings before Vegeta's eyes. Without thinking about it, he knew... somehow, he knew... that Lunch was the only person who would ever have loved him for who he was.

He was glad he got rid of her. He didn't need the lines to be blurred any more. And he _didn't need the Earthlings. _It was as if the planet itself had saw what he planned to do, and let out one last gasp of effort to try and stop him. To make him love it.

When in reality, the Earth had simply sealed its fate.

And Vegeta felt a wonderful new surge of energy, like he had woken up from a long sleep. He gazed at the drifting ashes for a moment and felt bizarrely grateful to Lunch. Her blood on his hands had baptized the start of Vegeta's reign.

When he looked up, Bulma was standing in the doorway. Her eyes told him that she knew.

Or maybe it was the reflection of her tears.

"V...Vegeta?" she said, voice small. She looked like a child that had been left in the rain. Her distressed _chi_ was so potent that Vegeta was surprised no one came running. Looks like he was going to have to deal with this himself.

Should he do away with Bulma, too? She mattered more than Lunch... Her death would complicate matters... even if he blew off suspicion, he probably wouldn't get that spaceship... grief did strange things to people. That was okay... Vegeta had a better idea.

Slowly, giving her plenty of time to see and understand, Vegeta walked up to her and took her shoulders, careful to not be rough. "Bulma." He could feel the tiny tremors of her fear like static underneath his hands. "Bulma, I want to give you my full disclosure. I do. But I need to know that you trust me."

Bulma, already surprised at his touch, couldn't look away from his Stygian eyes. When was the last time he had looked at her like that, really looked? Feelings stirred inside of her... little drops of her younger self, when she had wanted him. His normally guarded face was clean and open and honest and Bulma could only see warmth in his eyes. For her.

Taking a shaky breath in, Bulma nodded. "I do."

"Good. Then... what you saw, that was no trick. It wasn't a mistake. I killed Lunch," Vegeta said, voice grave. Bulma let out a small gasp that he ignored. "I had to. She was confused. She mistook me for someone I'm not. She thought I was still evil. When I tried to speak to her, she threatened me. She kept babbling about all the crimes we were going to commit together." Vegeta glanced at the pile of ashes. "She said that she was already getting close to you. She said she was going to rob you soon."

Bulma's eyes widened. "Lunch? No... no, she never caused any real harm... she said we were _friends_..."

"She must have been waiting... biding her time... 'gaining trust', she said. She obviously thought I sympathized."

"And you don't?" Bulma couldn't help herself. She felt sick, and she didn't even know why. She had never been close with Lunch. But none of them suspected... they all knew she was a little rough around the edges, but she was really _that _bad? It made Bulma queasy. She needed to know that Vegeta wasn't the same. _He _had changed long ago... right?

"Of course not." Vegeta pulled Bulma against his chest. He could still feel her trembling. "That part of me is long gone." He rested his head on hers and waited for her to be still.

He was so warm. Bulma shut her eyes against the tears. Gently, they swayed back and forth, Bulma's arms folded tightly. She had never seen him like this before. With each rock, Bulma relaxed just a little bit until eventually she was leaning all her weight on him. He _did _care, it just took a lot to show.

After a long time, Bulma pulled away. "... You did the right thing, Vegeta," she smiled shakily at him. "I always knew you were good." A long time ago, she would have locked this moment in her memory and would go back to review it many times. She would have felt encouraged. But now she knew that their time had come and gone. All that was left was easy companionship. She walked out through the still-open door, glancing behind at him before she left. He gave her an encouraging smile.

Immediately after, Briefs finally arrived at the scene. "Whoa-ho-HO! Was Bulma coming from here? Having some fun, Vegeta? Just make sure it's safe." He winked.

Vegeta rolled his eyes. He was much too used to Bulma's eccentric parents to be embarrassed. "Out of my way." He pushed past the Doctor.

"Hey!" Briefs called after him. "Didn't you want to talk to me about something?"

"Never mind that." He didn't need to leave anymore.

"What about all this stuff on the carpet? Is that _ash_? What's it from?"

"... I came from a forest fire."

Back in his room, Vegeta lay on the bed and stared up at the ceiling. He had changed his mind. He was staying on Earth. He had found a new form of power that was just as good.

_**Bulma Briefs kept her secret and Lunch's brutal murder at the hands of Vegeta was never realized.**_

_**~Lily F. Sang**_


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Years passed uneventfully. Vegeta didn't understand what happened to the rage he used to feel. It vanished sometime during the androids, he thought. Now, he spent his days in a strange place. The world was just a little bit fuzzy around the edges and he was starting to feel like a machine himself. Eat, sleep, train, repeat. He felt more than half empty. The sole thing that kept him going was his dreams of finally being able to leave this place that he still refused to call "home". And he was getting closer- he had seen Gohan a few times and Vegeta could tell that he hadn't kept up with his training... he was a shadow of his former self, while Vegeta had been steadily growing in strength. It wouldn't be long before he could beat Gohan.

But Vegeta didn't want it to be like this. He wanted to leave Earth after besting its greatest fighter at the height of his power. He couldn't help but think that Kakarrot wouldn't have slacked like his son. But Kakarrot was dead. Gohan was all Vegeta had left.

Even so, the moment where Vegeta surpassed Gohan in strength came and went and yet he was still biding his time. The whole situation didn't feel right. Leaving Earth now would give Vegeta a bad taste in his mouth. But what was he waiting for?

Kakarrot. Even though he was inescapably unavailable, Vegeta still wanted to have his fight with him. So he continued to dawdle at Capsule Corp.

And when Vegeta learned of Kakarrot's promise to come back for one day to fight in the Strongest Under the Heavens Tournament, he was glad he waited.

So the question was, why the devil did Vegeta interrupt a match fifteen years in the making so he could go and get killed himself?

Vegeta had been anticipating that single fight for almost half of his adult life. After that, he would finally let himself leave Earth. That was the Moment. And it had to be perfect: no handicaps, no allies, and _no legendary djinns of ultimate power to get in the way. _So Vegeta had to get rid of Boo first. Grrrrrr...

Vegeta had been so sure he could win. He was strong. He had been diligent with his training even during the years of peace and he was still high on the feeling of success from resisting Bobbidi's attempts to take over his mind. Oh, Vegeta knew the temptations, but he honestly didn't think he had any more untapped power left. Certainly nothing worth giving up his dignity for.

Vegeta knocked Kakarrot unconscious so he couldn't interfere and went to fight Boo. He was certain he could handle it.

But he couldn't handle it. Boo was stronger than he could ever have imagined, and Vegeta knew he was going to have to die fighting. He wouldn't run- against such an opponent, running would be useless anyway. The only option was to completely destroy the djinn so he could never regenerate again. But to do that, he had to use every ounce of _chi _in his body.

Most people are unaware that whenever a fighter creates a _chi_ blast they're never using all of their _chi_. You see, _chi_ isn't just power, it's life force. If you put all of your _chi_ into one explosion, as Vegeta did, your body doesn't have any energy left to keep itself living.

That's how Vegeta died: ripping himself apart from the inside, rather than letting anyone else do it. He could fight Kakarrot in the Afterlife when his time on Earth ran out. From what he had heard, there was going to be some sort of being involved with the afterlife. Vegeta thought his name was... Yemma or Enma or something. He was sure he could... persuade... that man into reconsidering his situation.

Even as his own _chi_ exploded inside of him, Vegeta died with a faint smile on his face. _Just you wait, Kakarrot... _he thought as the world blurred. _We'll settle the score yet... in Hell. _Maybe this wasn't the end of the road, but the beginning of a new one. So he met his demise with his head held high, already planning on how best to wrangle the deeds to his body and memories...

Vegeta didn't even make it to Enma.

OoO

_First: You have a name. You are Vegeta the Saiyan._

_Second: You have your body. You shouldn't have your body. The body and soul separate at death. But you don't know that._

_That is all you know._

His eyes were closed... or he was in darkness. He was hovering a few inches off the ground... or he was light years away from any ground. The air around him was prickling with heat... or it was ice-cold.

As Vegeta began to take in his surroundings, his past slowly found him again. He first remembered the thirst for power... which led him to Kakarrot and the Moment. The sting of failure returned like an old friend. Vegeta remembered the djinn... the cold feeling that he had to destroy that monster even if it killed him. He remembered the energy building up slowly, rising and rising until it burst in a supernova of devastation. Vegeta remembered the light of the explosion blinding him, and then the pain sinking its teeth in him, tearing through muscle and bone. And he remembered the end. His end.

He could finally open his eyes.

Vegeta was in outer space with no stars. Every few seconds, a burst of spidery violet lightning lit up a section of the void before fading away. It was quiet, but with the muffled atmosphere of being underwater.

Vegeta looked around. Was this hell? It wasn't what he was expecting, all right... then he thought about it. Spending eternity here would get unpleasant very quickly. Already, it looked like he had made the wrong choice.

A figure materialized in front of Vegeta, a figure with long, white hair. Vegeta couldn't make out its sable body against the void... only when the red lightning struck behind it did Vegeta see the outline. _This was a warrior._ Vegeta knew instantly from the being's broad chest, its muscular arms and legs. Hands hung limply at sides, like weights.

"Welcome, Vegeta," it said, voice as gentle and light as a soft breeze.

"Are you Enma?" Vegeta asked, giving him a once-over. "How queer... I was told that you were some sort of clerical giant."

The being gave a quiet chuckle. "No, I'm not Enma. I haven't seen that fool for a few millennia."

"Then who are you?" Vegeta asked. "Is this Hell?"

A slight shake of his head. "No. In order to go to Hell, you must first go through judgment. But in your case, I believe that would hardly be necessary. You would just be stripped of your memories and reincarnated into a new form."

Vegeta got a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. "And why is that?"

"Because of all the people you killed. They would probably consider you too dangerous to mingle with the common soul."

So he wouldn't have been able to fight Kakarrot. He had been too hasty... and thickheaded... and rash. And now, because of that... he best appreciate his memories while he still had them. "Am I going to be Judged? Is this some sort of trans-dimensional waiting room? And who are you, anyway? You've only answered one of my questions." Irritating little creature.

The thing made a curious little _heh _sound. "You aren't going to be Judged because I intercepted your death and brought you here... my name is Rokuma. Call me Ro for short. But _who am I? _Are you sure you want to know, hmmmm?" The thing that called itself "Ro" leaned closer. Vegeta stayed silent. After a few seconds, Ro continued. "I have a portion of each evil tendency of every person who has ever lived in me. Some would call me the devil, but the devil _created _the evil in people. I killed the devil. I inhaled his evil and stole his dimension." He gestured to the black plane. "And you are one of seven beings who are aware of my existence. That answer all your questions?"

Vegeta gaped at him, still processing his words. He killed the devil? Yes... Vegeta could feel it now, the screaming rage and cold pleasure of evil, emanating from him. He had never before felt such a high concentration of wickedness in a single being... a welcome break from the cottony morals of Earth.

But wait...

"What do you want with _me_?" Vegeta asked, trying not to contemplate the possibilities. It would either be really good for him, or worse than anything he had ever known.

Ro gave a smile that didn't reach his eyes. "Because I am tired of slumming it in here. I need to fight someone again. But no one ever seemed worth my time... until you, Vegeta. You are the evillest person that has ever lived."


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

"What do you mean?" Vegeta demanded. "Talk sense. What about, say, Freeza? I hate to compare myself to trash like him, but surely I'm no worse." Grrrr.

"I should explain myself better," Ro said. "It's true, you are about even with the likes of Freeza and those before him, but there is one crucial thing that happened to you that sets you apart. Can you guess?"

Oh, please. Vegeta fixed him with a cold stare. "Don't play games with me, Ro. Just spit it out."

Ro nodded. "It was your time on Earth."

Vegeta had to allow himself a quick bark of laughter at this. "Hah! As if! In all the fourteen years that I've been there, I've hardly killed _anyone_."

Ro tilted his head to the side and regarded Vegeta thoughtfully. "That may be so... but just tell me something. Where is your home?"

"I don't have one."

"Is there anyone that you love or are attached to in any way?"

"No."

"Let's make it a little easier. Is there anyone that you would hesitate to kill?"

"No."

"No one? Not even a little?"

"No one."

Ro pointed at Vegeta. "And _that _is why I chose you. In all of history, not one person has spent such a long time among such pure beings as that group of Earthlings and not been infected by their good. But you... you are exactly the same as you were the day you first got to Earth. All you did was learn to _hide it_. I admire the way you picked up the social norms and taboos of Earth so quickly. You did a very good job of appearing to have switched sides. But still to this day, there is not a single life you would preserve unless you _needed _them alive." Ro made that odd little _heh _again. "Or if the need to kill them was weaker than the effort it would take. Your inborn cruelty and your drive to serve no one but yourself are incorrigible."

Vegeta smiled slightly. "Is that so..." The being's words were true enough.

"And my reason for bringing you here is one that I'm sure you can sympathize with: boredom. As the strongest person in the universe, there is _no one _who can put up a decent fight and entertain me."

Vegeta frowned. "Tell me that again. You're the strongest in _the universe_? What about Boo?"

"Oh, that pink thing," Ro said dismissively. "Not strong enough to even bother with. Especially the way he is now."

"_Now?_"

"When he was first created, he was evil like you and me. But he absorbed one of the Lord of Lords, and took on his happy, childlike nature. He still killed without a thought, but only because he didn't know any better. He got soft. Nowadays, I'm sure you could quench his thirst for blood just by telling him that it's 'wrong' to hurt people."

Vegeta was troubled. "You mean he was even stronger before?" A nod. He closed his eyes. "So he had a whole other level of power. Then I didn't really defeat him... killing him that way doesn't even count."

"Now's probably a good time to tell you... you didn't kill him."

"_What?!_"

"You need to completely vaporize every particle of his body. Otherwise, he'll just bounce back again. Djinns are annoying that way."

Vegeta's eyes widened in anger. "You mean I died for _NOTHING_?"

"Ah, ah, ah!" Ro shook a finger at Vegeta. "Don't get too upset. You're here with me now."

Vegeta was about to roll his eyes but stopped. This man was more powerful than Kakarrot _and _Boo... and he wanted to fight him.

...

He wanted to fight him?

"If you're the strongest, why bother with me? You know that I'm no better than Kakarrot," rrrrrrr... "and definitely worse than Boo. Why?"

Ro grinned. "As a matter of fact, you are inferior to both. Oh, you're going to love this. Son Goku actually could go to Super Saiyan 3, he just chose not to. That puts him... about as strong as Boo, maybe more so."

Vegeta's blood froze. "_SUPER SAIYAN 3?! _You're telling me he had an entire transformation up his sleeve and he _didn't use it in our battle?! _SCUM!" he shouted, livid. Kakarrot hadn't been taking their entire fight seriously! He lied! He was mocking him! And worst of all... Vegeta hadn't been anywhere _near _his power! What the hell did it take?!

"Relax," Ro said, fingers twitching. "He didn't use it because its power used up the time he had on Earth and he was saving it. I'm sure he wasn't thinking about you." Ro failed to notice Vegeta glowering at him. "Besides..." He grinned. "After what I'm going to teach you, that will be nothing."

"...What is it?" Vegeta asked, anger turning fast into gloom. After all those years slaving away... he knew he had reached his limits.

"First, we are going to spar. After that, I'll teach you the technique," Ro said.

"... Ro, technique or not, I don't think I have anything left."

"Oh, quit your sniveling. Everyone's had fighters' block at some point. You've never let it get in your way before, haven't you? Besides, you've never had _me_ before. I promise you, you will thank me after. So just make your _chi_ as big as you can," Ro said, "or I'll break your legs."

Vegeta frowned. Sniveling? He'd show Ro. He stood up straight and released his _chi_.

"No, no, don't just _release _it," Ro said impatiently. "Make it _bigger_. And _don't go Super Saiyan. _If you ever go Super Saiyan in my presence, I'll kill you on the spot."

Vegeta really did roll his eyes this time. _Impatient dog. _"I was _getting _there," he muttered, before expanding his _chi_ to his base form's maximum power. He wasn't good enough to beat perfect Cell the way he was now, but he was stronger than the early days when he had first achieved Super Saiyan 2.

"Good," said Ro, "now keep it there until I say." He started pacing, hands behind his back, as if he were giving a lecture in university. "As you know, after Son Goku was killed by Piccolo he trained in the Afterlife with Kaiō in order to defeat you. Kaiō's planet had heavy gravity, yes, and Son Goku learned the Genki Dama, but there was something else." He glanced up at Vegeta. "He learned a legendary technique... called the Kaiō-Ken."

"I've heard that name before..." Vegeta muttered, the name sparking a distant memory...

_He stood smugly on the tower of stone, staring down at Kakarrot. The boy was strong... stronger than Vegeta had anticipated... but still no match. Waiting for him to make the next move, Vegeta noticed a strange glint in Kakarrot's eye. He gave a tight smile and shouted something..._

"_Kaiō-Ken... times three!"_

_Vegeta could actually see the power exploding out from Kakarrot and, before he could process what was happening, Kakarrot blasted off from the ground and slammed his fist into Vegeta's cheek._

That was the very first time Kakarrot had surpassed him.

"Do you understand what it does?" Ro asked.

Vegeta shrugged. "Well... not exactly. It made him stronger, much stronger than he should have been."

"Son Goku was tapping into the emergency reservoirs of _chi _in his body. You have experience with this- it caused your death. But he was taught to do it only for an instant, before his body had the chance to die. The Kaiō-Ken _multiplied _his base power level. At first, even taking the Kaiō-Ken up to the threefold was almost too much for him, but he kept getting stronger... and with experience he was able to take the Kaiō-Ken farther than he was ever meant to. You know how Goku is, always acting like the laws don't apply to him. An effective philosophy."

"... I see... so why did he stop? Did he just get too strong to be able to use it anymore?" If this "Kaiō-Ken" multiplied power, at their current level using it could mean the destruction of the universe.

"What do you mean?" Ro looked at Vegeta curiously. "Son Goku never stopped. To this day, he still uses the Kaiō-Ken."

"Don't play games with me, Ro. Kakarrot hasn't had such a sudden burst since I first fought him on Earth."

"That's because he's absorbed it. When you use the Kaiō-Ken for long enough, when you've gotten to the maximum multiple, it just gets added to your power for good. You can't use it again, but you don't have to worry about wrecking your body."

"... Added to...?" Then that must mean... "How high can Kakarrot multiply his power by? Using the Kaiō-Ken."

"Kaiō only ever intended it to be used at x2, but now... Son Goku is effectively using Kaiō-Ken x20."

Which must mean... "Kakarrot has been fighting at x20 his normal power this whole time."

"Correct." Ro clicked his tongue.

"_Kakarrot has been fighting at x20 his normal power this whole time. _He's nowhere NEAR as strong as me! He cheated!"

"No, no, you're getting it wrong," Ro said. "_Don't _say that learning the Kaiō-Ken is cheating. It's one of the most difficult techniques to learn. All the power you've seen from Son Goku, he earned. I'm just telling you how he got it."

"...I understand."

"Now, we're going to start on the path to _you _learning this technique. We won't call it the Kaiō-Ken. That's what the Lord of the Worlds teaches. You are going to learn the Sabaku-Kaze."

Vegeta stared at Ro, eyes alive but mouth silent. Ro continued, uninterrupted. "Even though you're dealing with a much higher base power level than when Son Goku first learned, you should still be able to take it up to x20." Vegeta's eyes widened. "That should be enough for you to get up to my level."

Vegeta finally found his voice. "But how strong are you, really? How do I know you're not just full of it? This whole situation seems a little eccentric..."

"I didn't think you were this shrewd, Vegeta..." Ro slowly turned in a circle. "How strong am I? THIS IS HOW STRONG I AM."

All the red lightning plunged down toward them and exploded, forcing Vegeta to shield his eyes from the blinding light. And the _chi. _He didn't so much sense it as get attacked by it. It was pounding all around him... he could almost feel collisions on his arms and chest as if it was a warrior in itself... and his _head, _it was like it was trying to smash through his skull. He gritted his teeth, trying to block out the agonizing power, and after a few seconds it began to ebb away.

Even after he recovered, Vegeta's heart was still pounding frantically. He couldn't feel fear... somehow, all he knew was _joy._ Picturing this monolithic power _fighting him_ was inconceivable. No matter what he did, no matter how long he trained for, he would never be able to make it past the first blow. And yet... "... You said I could get this strong...?"

"Sure," Ro said easily.

Vegeta withdrew for a minute then, needing to luxuriate in the knowledge that this, this _monstrous _power, would also be his. The look on Kakarrot's face... mmmm.

When he was finished, Vegeta spoke. "I'm glad you told me... after all these years of waiting... suffering... This is it, isn't it? This is the Moment I've been waiting for... heh heh heh..." He was so overcome with delight that his laughter kept building until he could hardly stay on his feet. Ro waited patiently for him to finish.

"Let's start now," Vegeta said eagerly. He couldn't wait. He wasn't letting Kakarrot remain better than him for a second longer than he had to.

"Later. Not now," Ro said.

"... And why it that?" Vegeta said, jaw clenched in disappointment and frustration. "Kakarrot learned it when he was about as strong as Raditz, _fourteen years ago_. Teach it to me _now _so I can finally beat him!"

Ro shrugged. "You can't learn it right now. When Son Goku learned it, his power was much smaller and easier to manage. We're going to have to be very careful with you. Besides, his grasp of _chi_ is fundamentally different than yours, so that's already an obstacle."

Vegeta frowned. "What are you talking about? I've researched the way Earthlings use _chi_, there's nothing Kakarrot can do with it that I can't."

"Maybe so, but it's not really about knowledge. It's about instincts. You see, you were raised believing that a person's _chi_ level was a fixed number. The only way it could go up was by training, or in your case, recovering from a near-death experience. Correct?"

"Yeah," Vegeta agreed.

"Son Goku, on the other hand, never had such a constricted view of _chi_. He never was taught that he had a limit as to how much he could improve. So when Kaiō told him to explode his _chi_, it was easy enough for him. You, on the other hand... well, I'll let you find out for yourself. Your _chi_ is still raised to the maximum?"

Vegeta nodded.

"Force it past those limits. You can't build up to it, you have to do it all at once. Go."

Vegeta shut his eyes and tried to raise it further. It stubbornly stayed at the same level. Taking a deep breath in, he tried to do it all at once like Ro said. _One... two... three..._

"DYAH!"

His whole body spasmed and he let go without thinking. If he kept going, he would die- permanently this time. "It's no good. I can't-"

Ro's elbow smashed into Vegeta's jaw and knocked him to the ground. "What the hell was _that _for?!" he yelled, eyes wide.

"Keep your _chi _raised or I'll attack again," Ro said. "When we spar, I'll lower the power of my attacks so you have at least _some _chance... but from now on, every time your _chi_ isn't as big as it can get, I'll hit you for real. Got that?"

Vegeta glared at him as he got up, wiping a trickle of blood off his lip. Ro was bluffing- if he hit Vegeta with all his strength there would be nothing left of him. Still, Vegeta knew that it would hurt.

"We are going to spar now," Ro said, throwing another punch. Vegeta saw it coming and blocked it. "After I finish talking, I'll be fighting at twice your base form's power level. Again, if you go Super, I am going to kill you. The only way to beat me is to master the Sabaku-Kaze times two."

"And how am I supposed to do that?" Vegeta asked, breathing heavily. As he was talking, Ro had been calmly, almost methodically, attacking him.

"Just practice going past your limits. At first, you won't be able to do it long enough to attack. And you have to know _exactly _how much your body can handle, otherwise... you know what happens."

"How can I raise my _chi_ if you keep getting in my way?" Vegeta left an afterimage and skipped around behind Ro, who blocked him without looking.

"I'm going to give you a few five-minute breaks every day to practice. You also get three hours to sleep, but if your _chi_ goes down I'll give you another beating."

"I see... so I'll have to learn how to raise it without any effort." That was going to be tough... Vegeta was going to get injured at some point. "One last question. Suppose I just wanted to rest in peace and I told you to take me to be Judged. Would you? Do I have any choice to be trained by you?"

"None at all," Ro grinned. "But you wouldn't refuse, not after what you've learned..."

Vegeta laughed. "No, I guess not..."

"Besides, after you've fought me, I'll take you back to Earth. I know what you want."

"Thanks..."

This was going to be the greatest training session of Vegeta's life.

He had no inkling of the sea of pain that was approaching on the horizon. Even if he had, he wouldn't have lost one drop of enthusiasm. Seeing Kakarrot finally, _finally _fall before him would be worth it. It would be worth anything.

So Vegeta cracked his knuckles, eyes shining with anticipation, and said the magic words...

"Come at me."

OoO

"So Vegeta," Ro said, fist centimetres from Vegeta's nose, "what's the first thing you're going to do once you kill Son Goku?"

Vegeta hesitated to consider and nearly got his face bashed in for his trouble. "That was cheap!"

"You're just too used to the Earthlings," Ro said, blurring out of sight. Vegeta could hear the smile in his ghostly voice as it came from all around him. "They're all pretty straight-laced, aren't they?"

"Ha!" Vegeta's eyes darted back and forth as he caught little hits of where Rokuma was. All he could do was stay on his guard and try to anticipate the instant Ro would attack. "Two years ago, I was sparring with Kakarrot's son... it was getting heated... I blew away a _chi _blast that nearly cut my skin... but just as I was finally waking up, he asked to pause the battle so he could _tie his shoe_."

Ro's disembodied laughter came from all sides. "What did you do?"

"Kicked him in the stomach. _Hard."_ Vegeta smirked. "I was just trying to help. It would be easier for him to reach his shoelace lying on the ground like that." Vegeta couldn't help but relive the hilarious way Gohan had crumpled to his knees, gasping for breath. Had that doormat of a person really faced off against Perfect Cell?

In the instant that Vegeta's concentration wavered, Ro materialized in front of Vegeta and knocked his legs out from under him. On his way down, Vegeta grabbed his foot and switched their momentum, smashing Ro into the ground face-first.

"It's just disrespect, really," Ro said casually, getting up like nothing had happened.

"That's exactly it...!" Vegeta sidestepped the beam that Ro had been charging while he was down. "None of these Earth-bred Saiyans know what an honor it used to be just to _spar_ with me... even as a child, some of our subjects would always be clamoring for my father to let them fight me... I was quite the _prodigy, _you see_..._" If there was any bitterness in Vegeta's voice, it was well-hidden. "... Earth was humiliating... but at least I turned it into humility..." Vegeta paused to launch a barrage of _chi_ bullets at Ro. "Gohan... if he learned the Sabaku-Kaze... would he be stronger than me?"

Far above Vegeta, Ro shouted his answer. "No! Son Goku taught his son the Kaiō-Ken, too!"

Vegeta gritted his teeth and directed his attack upwards. Ro disappeared from midair before the projectiles could touch him. "Of course! So Gohan has the potential to be stronger than Goku, but he's still a lot weaker than you."

"That's right." Ro appeared in front of Vegeta and landed a solid punch. "And like I said, you should be about as good as me once _you_ learn it." His eyes glazed for a second. "Speaking of which, it's practice time."

Vegeta nodded and took a few seconds to catch his breath. He was only a few days in and he was already running low on energy. He tried not to think what was going to happen in the future. But Ro obviously had a plan, and Vegeta was sure it didn't involve getting him killed.

Ummmm, killed _again_.

"I used to think... that my three years in the gravity room... was the worst period... of my life..." Vegeta said with difficulty. It had been a week... at least he thought so... the light never changed here.

"Stop being such a whiner," Ro said, head tilted to the side and arms crossed. He looked bored. "I could be making things a hundred times harder on you and you know it."

Despite the pain that danced up and down him, especially in his side, Vegeta grinned. "I know... I'm not complaining... after all... those three years led to me becoming a Super Saiyan..."

"That's the spirit," Ro said, right before everything went black.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

When Vegeta woke up, he was sprawled on the ground with an arm completely numb from being pinned underneath him. Ro was sitting in the lotus position, about five feet away, arms crossed and eyes closed.

"What happened?" Vegeta asked, wincing. He felt as battered as ever, but at least he regained some of his energy back.

"I punched you in the head so you lost consciousness," Ro said, instantly out of his trance or awake or whatever he was doing. "It looked like you needed a break."

Vegeta couldn't help but laugh at this. "You know... I wouldn't have minded so much if you just left me alone for a few hours..."

"True, but where's the fun in that?" Ro smiled fiendishly. Vegeta was still getting used to someone like him after his decades long hiatus on Earth. At least his company was good. "Besides, it's better exercise."

Vegeta stared at him. "No. That's not exercise."

Ro stretched and stood up. "Then it was _an_ exercise. An exercise in pain. Whatever. I'm bored. Fight me."

Vegeta got up, too. His Saiyan blood was just wakening after a long sleep and he wanted to fight... but his mind and body were getting sluggish... rubbery. He wasn't used to this kind of training. Saiyans _did_ get stronger after taking heavy damage... but in training, Vegeta had always stuck with exercise instead of pain. This training with Ro resembled an actual battle more than anything, but a battle that never ended and was _almost _lethal... but not quite. He couldn't even tell if he was getting stronger anymore... he hadn't had the chance to heal properly. And every day, he was just getting more wounded. "One of these days... what's going to happen if I die?" He gave voice to a concern that he'd had for a while, but he was also stalling. Every moment that he wasn't exerting himself was a good moment.

"Don't worry about it," Ro said. "I'm controlling my blows. It's hard, but I'm doing it. When you're dead, your energy matters more than your physical self, which is why you haven't eaten and you can still function with so little sleep. So you should be able to last like this for a long time, if not indefinitely."

"Great," Vegeta exhaled. He still hadn't been able to achieve the Sabaku-Kaze x2 even once, let alone master it. He could see now the walls that Ro told him about... they barred him. He had probably only been able to skip around them with Boo because he had had no scruples about dying. But that just wasn't the case now. If that happened now, he would have wrecked his last chance.

So Vegeta carried out his sustained torture in silence, his wounds weakening him every hour. If only he had a chance to heal.

Three days later

"...Vegeta," Ro said thoughtfully, right before one of the breaks was over.

"...What... is it?" Vegeta cleared his throat, voice flimsy from disuse. There was a certain look in Ro's eyes that made him wary all of a sudden, though he couldn't say why.

"It's been ten days and you still haven't been able to achieve the Sabaku-Kaze of any sort." His eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly.

Vegeta gritted his teeth and looked at the floor. "I know..." he said bitterly. "I know I should have done it... especially training with you..." Vegeta had no idea how hard it was to force his _chi_ that high. But that wasn't all. "You know... with all of the injuries I've sustained... if I healed from that, I'd be able to do it."

"What's that got to do with learning the Sabaku-Kaze? It's not about power, it's about the technique."

"It's impossible for me to focus enough like this. If I was restored to full power, I could concentrate fully on the technique. It would be easy and you know it. So why don't you let me take the time to heal?"

"If you get stronger it'll just be that much harder to multiply your power. Besides, is it really my fault that you can't ignore your wounds?"

Vegeta glowered. He was one to talk. Vegeta's status had carried him a certain distance forwards to becoming a true warrior... but he had taken himself the rest of the way through unwavering discipline and perseverance. Vegeta bet that _airhead_ had never known any sort of real pain in his life. He just sat around in this weird place, comfortable in the knowledge that he was the strongest being in existence. But he hadn't earned it. He wasn't _real_.

"And to be honest, I'm not surprised," Ro said, when Vegeta remained silent. "But you're no good to me the way you are now, and it won't be too much longer before your energy's so low that you can't do it at all."

Vegeta held his tongue and refrained from telling Ro again that his energy levels wouldn't be a problem if he'd just let him _rest_.

"So," Ro finished, "If you don't succeed in doing the Sabaku-Kaze by the end of today, I am going to destroy you."

Vegeta closed his eyes. He had known this was coming... "An ultimatum..." That was it for him, then. If Ro refused to let him heal, Vegeta wouldn't be able to do it. It wasn't a matter of motivation or skill, nothing that he could control, he simply didn't have the resources. Vegeta had figured out how to do the Sabaku-Kaze the day before, but now he was too damaged to pull it off.

"Spot on as usual," Ro said. Then he held his hands about three feet apart. An hourglass appeared in between them. "Once all the sand is gone, in approximately ten hours, I'll come back and see if you did it."

Vegeta stared at him. "_Come back...?_"

"I'm bored, so I'm going off for a bit to see how the fight's going on Earth," Ro said. "You'll be on your own. Is that okay?" He shook his head and laughed. "Just kidding, I don't care." Ro gave Vegeta a knowing smile before he flew off.

Vegeta had ten hours to learn the Sabaku-Kaze or else he would die- for real. And he didn't have Ro's superior strength and speed to spar with.

This was going to be _easy! _Vegeta had _ten whole hours _to himself. Well, it wasn't that much... but it should be enough.

There was no time to lose. Vegeta dropped to the ground. He couldn't feel Ro's energy, so he must've gone somewhere else to use whatever strange powers he had to spy on the Earthlings. Good. That meant Vegeta could stop having his _chi_ raised to the maximum.

Vegeta was finally able to relax both his _chi_ and his tense muscles. Already, he could tell he had gotten stronger... but not by as much as he should have. He needed to be healed before he could get a real increase.

Ten hours wasn't enough for his wounds to mend... he would just have to settle for sleep, then. Taking deep breaths, Vegeta slowed his heartbeat until he felt himself drifting off. It had been a long time since he needed to feel safe in order to sleep.

OoO

Even from the depths of sleep, the moment Ro appeared back in the dimension again made Vegeta stir.

Suddenly Ro's energy spiked, breaking Vegeta out of his nap altogether. In an instant, thoughts of warning blared in his head.

"He's going to destroy me _right now_."

"I didn't have the time to heal."

"_What did Ro say about energy mattering more than physical selves in death?_"

"SABAKU-KAZE x2!" Vegeta's _chi_ skyrocketed and he suddenly found himself crouching, both hands gripping the fist that had been hell bent on punching a hole through his chest. Before a second had passed, Vegeta used Ro's momentum to flip him over his shoulder and smash him to the ground.

And just like that the Moment was over, leaving Vegeta his normal self. Fresh, immaculate and full of energy.

"How was THAT for the Sabaku-Kaze!" he shouted, exhilarated, as Ro picked himself off the ground. "You felt that one, didn't you."

"No, not really," Ro said, completely unfazed. "Don't get too cocky. You need more than that to be a match for me. Now we'll work on increasing the multiplier and, eventually, you'll add it permanently to your own power."

"..." Vegeta didn't say anything for a few moments, irritated by Ro's imperiousness. "... Sounds li-"

Before Vegeta could finish his sentence, a vicious blow to the stomach knocked the wind out of him.

"I thought I told you to keep your _chi_ raised to the maximum at all times," Ro said, voice dead.

Doubled over and gasping for breath, Vegeta glared up at Ro and felt real hatred towards him for the first time. At least the Earthlings had some concept of _respect. _Ro was acting like he was Vegeta's master when all he had done was tell the Saiyan about the multiplier technique. A flash of heat as Vegeta was overcome with the desire to know what colour Rokuma's blood was... and it died out. There was nothing he could do. Ro was too strong. Vegeta just had to play his game for now, and hope that the Sabaku-Kaze x20 would be enough to kill him.

OoO

"Stop... attacking me," Vegeta said, sides heaving with the effort of pushing air through his lungs. "I just... need to rest... then... you'll have your... Sabaku-Kaze x20..." It was all he could do to get the words out, having to deflect Ro's never-ending assault.

"No." The more haggard Vegeta grew, the more merciless Ro was. "It's part of your training. Maybe I'd consider it if you were already up to times twenty, but you're still only at ten. You haven't even managed to do more than heartbeats."

"... Condescending... swine... maybe I would if you let me _rest_," Vegeta hissed, every aching muscle struggling to keep up. "It worked last time." A flash of movement and he reacted blindly. "Sabaku-Kaze x6!"

"Doing that little trick again won't help your stamina. Haven't you noticed? Your _chi_ works differently now that you're dead. You would have gotten the same effect from meditating, and yet you chose to sleep. You're still thinking like a _mortal._"

"..." Vegeta barely listened, too focused on drawing in air while Ro was busy talking.

"Even if you're still evil, Earth extracted the Saiyan part out of you. Where's your will to fight? All you've done for the past few days is grovel and beg for me to let you rest!"

Vegeta still said nothing, busy attacking this time, but he felt the sting of humiliation. What the hell did Ro know about being a Saiyan? There were some things that you couldn't get from watching. He had never _begged._

Defiance converted into energy, Vegeta used the Sabaku-Kaze x12 to catch Ro off-guard. A thin trail of blood trickled down Ro's cheek. So he did bleed, just like a normal person.

The scar the cut left would stay with Ro for the rest of his life.

Vegeta kept moving despite the pain. Even with his battered body that was flagging more and more, he would not relent. Seeing the brief flash of irritation in Ro's eyes was enough. Finally, Vegeta had won.

His victory over Ro was nothing more than the desperate grin of a condemned man.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Ro paced around the sleeping Saiyan. He had never used to get this _bored_. But he had also been existing in a semi-conscious form, one that was more shadow than being. Once he had started teaching Vegeta the Sabaku-Kaze, Ro started living again.

But he would not be living happily until the Moment came. And he knew that the Saiyan didn't have what it took to get to x20... not while he still clung to the illusion that his Death Form worked the same as his Life Form.

There were concrete differences, but the best martial arts knowledge was taught through actions and not words... and Ro couldn't be bothered to explain, anyway. The hard way it was, then. More fun for him.

"Get up," Ro said, standing over Vegeta. Like a switch had been flipped, Vegeta's eyes opened and he sat up in one fluid motion.

"Why am I awake?" he asked, squinting up at Ro. He had been getting three hours of sleep every day since he got there, but Ro had woken him before two had passed.

"We're done with sleep," Ro said. This had gone on long enough. It was sink or swim. "And breaks as well. From now on, we will fight every second of every day."

His heart beat steadily, but a shiver slowly crept down Vegeta's spine. He didn't like the look in Ro's eyes. He wasn't bluffing. He must have some sort of plan.

Not questioning it, Vegeta got up. He didn't have a choice. Every hour his irritation at the difference in their power grew. At least Kakarrot hadn't _abused _it. Ro was unabashedly ordering Vegeta around just because he was stronger. Like Freeza had.

Then Vegeta thought no more as his mind focused completely on his opponent. Ro hadn't made a move yet, but when he did, Vegeta would be ready.

Ro's wrist blurred Sabaku-Kaze x10 successfully blocked and blocked the knee coming from the other side he was keeping up good good counterattack now but he got away where is he going too fast to see and

SMASH.

The first blow was on the side of his head and it nearly knocked Vegeta out. Without the strength he had gained from his time with Ro, it would have killed him.

Vegeta twisted around to face Ro as he fell but was met only with the dark space.

SMASH.

A blow to his back this time. Vegeta went limp and had to hover in case his spine was damaged. But after a few seconds, the pain dimmed until it was just a throb. He was lucky. Ro still wasn't in sight. This... wasn't... _fighting_...

"Why don't... you... FACE ME?" Vegeta yelled. "If you're so set on killing me... stop attacking my back and _look at me. _Have a little respect."

At speed, Ro grinned. "Respect? Why? I'm not even using half my strength and you can't even see me. Why should I respect _that?_"

Ro appeared out of nowhere, kicked Vegeta in the stomach, and disappeared again. Vegeta doubled over... the burst of pain momentarily blinded him... he was coughing up blood... but he still kept his head up.

"Be... grateful for your strength... some of us... actually... had to _earn _ours..." He could barely speak.

Invisible, Ro _tsked _to himself_._ Vegeta still just didn't _get _it. He was so hung up on life and death, and yet knew so little. No matter. He would learn. "I'm not going to _kill _you. I never was." Cough. "Just watch and learn. It's part of your training."

"'My training'?" Vegeta was baffled. "You keep-"

An elbow, slamming into Vegeta's upper back and forcing him to the ground. A hand, locking onto his wrist and forcing his arm behind his back. Then the other one. Vegeta was helpless, face pushed into the ground as the pressure built.

"Do the Sabaku-Kaze x16 and you'll be able to get free. That's all the strength you'll need. Just do it," Ro said, voice at the most disconcerting pitch of deadly calm.

"..." Vegeta screwed his eyes shut and he tried. Believe me, he tried as hard as he could. But his _chi _was all over the place, scattered, broken, and he couldn't gather it properly. Each second, Ro bent his arm further. If he kept going, he was going to break it.

Ro kept going.

"C... curse... you..." Vegeta got out. He couldn't do it. "F... fiend..."

"You disappoint me yet again, Vegeta."

"Aaaah... aaAAAHHH!" Vegeta screamed as his arm snapped. But Ro didn't stop.

It was the pain itself that sent Vegeta the strength to throw Ro off.

"..." Ro looked at Vegeta, cradling his broken arm and yet still with those eyes born from the inferno. He hadn't used the Sabaku-Kaze x16 to escape, just a simple burst of adrenaline. Hmm... very interesting.

Vegeta closed his eyes the second before Ro jumped at him. Ro had spared him the fate of being Judged, but Vegeta ended up in Hell all the same.

OoO

In less than 24 hours Vegeta was lying on his side, unaware of what was happening. The ringing in his ears blocked out all sound... the blood trickling in his eyes blurred his vision... he was dazed and thinking straight was a chore that he couldn't handle anymore. All Vegeta knew was the pain. It came in layers now... the thin, stinging pain of burned skin... the sharp bite of damaged sinew... the soreness of overworked muscle... the jarring ache of bones struggling to stay together... the deep, ugly hammer of bruised organs... the only thing he had tasted in weeks was his own blood.

Only a few precious seconds had ticked by before the monster was standing over him again. He never waited long. He observed the prone form of Vegeta, once the prince of one of the most powerful races in the galaxy, now reduced to a shuddering mess curled up on the ground like an infant.

Ro had to refrain from tapping his foot as he waited for Vegeta to get up. He was so close... but Ro's instincts told him to not press the Saiyan, or he actually _would _end up killing him.

"Oh, Vegeta," Ro said on a soft exhale. "I thought you'd be different, I really did. Is it really so hard to reach your full potential?" He then grew angry. "Why wasn't your pride good enough? Did you just not have as much as I thought?"

Pride. That was the word that reached Vegeta in his prison of silence... Pride. The only word he'd ever stood by. "Wh... what..." Vegeta said, shoulders and back trembling as he propped himself up on an elbow... "does someone... like... you..." He was seized with a coughing fit and had to pause... "know... about..." His eyes were almost closed and he felt himself fading _but he couldn't._ "PRIDE."

His feet were under him. His hands were. On one knee, now. And standing. He wasn't done yet. Somehow...

Vegeta held up his hands and stared at them, wide-eyed. "What's happening?" he asked. His broken arm was whole again and he felt _healthy_. His mind was sharp, not fogged. And his _chi _wasn't static anymore, it billowed around him like wind and flowed through his veins like water.

Vegeta turned to Ro, still watching him. "Tell me," he said. He knew that Ro was keeping secrets from him and he didn't like it. He would have to go.

"Welcome to Sabaku-Kaze x18."

"I don't care. You know that wasn't what I was talking about."

"You've transcended yourself."

"... What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"It means that you won't fight like someone who's been carrying around a dead weight body their whole lives. You'll fight with your _chi_."

"Why am I healed?"

"Dead and away from any physical worlds, even your _chi _is different. The body acts as a barrier between the _chi _and the soul. Right now, your body's essence is weakened so your _chi _and soul are closer. You already knew that the strength of your _chi _here can heal your body, but now the strength of your spirit can heal your _chi."_

After a long pause, Vegeta spoke. "I'm taking three hours for myself. Then I'll give you what you want." He had always trusted his instinct. He needed to explore these new found holdings on his own.

"If it amuses you, go."

Vegeta turned and started to walk. Stranger and stranger developments kept appearing suddenly. And he needed to figure out what to do with Ro.

Later, he knew that Ro would not be allowed to live. He had been rude to Vegeta, treating him like some troublemaker schoolboy. So he would pay. Crime begets punishment. Only two more multipliers on the Sabaku-Kaze until Vegeta could unmake that annoying speed-bump. Then he would find a way back to Earth and kill Boo... sigh... there was too much trash that needed to be cleaned up. But after that, he could finally._.. finally _ take care of Kakarrot for good. And then... _heh_... he would leave Earth in a cacophony of screams, honor and blood.

OoO

The two demi-humans faced each other in the endless dimension of shadow. One short, both muscular and lithe, with spiky coaled hair and an almost tangible intensity in his black eyes. He stood straight, regarding the second one with a look barren of trust, yet at ease and receptive. The look of a true warrior.

The second one was a head taller than the first, with eyes so slitted that at first glance they appeared to be entirely absent from the pale flesh. The mouth was equally subtle... and the nose was simply not present. He carried a long mane of albescent hair. He, too, stood perfectly straight, but his set-forward head gave the illusion of a slouch. He regarded the first one unblinkingly. There was such a complete stillness coming from him that it seeped into the air around him, like ink on parchment. His absence of movement gave him the appearance of a spider waiting for its prey, or perhaps a corpse.

No _chi_ came from either of them. They were both waiting for the same thing... just with very different reasons.

Vegeta broke the stagnant pause. "I'm ready for x20." The multiplier was a mere formality, now. There was only "power" and "more power".

Rokuma's closed lips slowly spread until they were stretched taut across his face. "Show me." It takes you a moment to recognize the expression as a sign of pleasure; a smile.

Vegeta raised his fists slightly and gave a sharp _kiai_. A thunderclap as his _chi_ climbed so fast there wasn't any build, it just _appeared_. And it was divine- powerful enough to cause the air in the empty space to thicken like a sauna. He was far beyond those petty days of elevating stray bits of rubble. Any amateur martial artist would get knocked unconscious merely from of the awesome droves of energy pouring from Vegeta. He had practiced, and was now able to sustain this level of power for longer than an instant- though not indefinitely.

Vegeta then settled into a fighting stance, still making eye-contact with Ro, and waited for the demon to make a move.

Ro's smile widened just a little more and his eyes drifted closed as if he were stepping into a hot bath. It was finally time for him to release his _chi_. For the first time in years, he had reason to fight at full power. Not to _win_, oh no...he wouldn't need anything close to what he was capable of to kill the vain Saiyan for good. But Ro had spent a significant amount of time planting this false impression of his true power in Vegeta -one that was on par with what Vegeta would be capable of if he learned the Sabaku-Kaze- and Ro needed to show him the truth. Because Ro didn't care about any of that insipid 'fighting a worthy opponent' garbage. He was no Saiyan. He was something entirely Other.

All he wanted was to see pain. The strongest pain that a person could feel. Vegeta was the ideal candidate: his obnoxious pride would make it easy to break him. When Vegeta had learned the Sabaku-Kaze, he discovered that his deepest fear wasn't true. All along, he had been better than Son Goku. And Ro knew how happy he had made him... Ro had purposefully lifted Vegeta up higher than he had ever been before.

All that meant was that he could fall that much farther.

Ro's power came in waves, passively. Vegeta waited, patiently comparing their two _chis_ in his mind's eye. He estimated that in ten seconds they would be on the same level.

The countdown happened in silence, the heavy atmosphere broken only by the sound of Vegeta's heartbeat in his ears. He knew the biggest problem this battle posed was his focus: how could he concentrate now when he would be fighting Kakarrot so _soon? _It simply wasn't practical!

... But if he didn't win _this _fight, he wouldn't get to fight Kakarrot. _Just stay calm, _he thought to himself. _Get ready, Ro's going to reach full power right... about... now._

But Ro's _chi_ kept rising. And rising. Confusion turned to outrage turned to horror on Vegeta's face, Ro gleefully watching each one. Vegeta felt a huge presence suddenly appear right in front of him and he looked up, as if expecting to see a mountain emerge from the black.

But all that stood before him was that pale creature, stronger now than a hundred gods.

Vegeta was frozen, helplessly staring with wide eyes. On their own, his muscles tensed and shivered and his teeth chattered. He was overcome with a feeling he knew far, far too well.

He was outclassed _again_.

The _power... _he wouldn't be a match for Ro in a hundred years. What had happened? They were supposed to be _equal to each other! _Had Vegeta really miscalculated so badly? Ro said that the Sabaku-Kaze x20 would be enough t...

_Ro said..._

"You..." The words caught in his throat, constricted by shock and fury. "Y-you..." Ro's still-rising _chi_ was making it near-impossible for Vegeta to just manage his thoughts.

It was stopping now. That was good. He could tell that Rokuma wasn't holding anything back now; _this was it. _This was his full power. And Vegeta could finally think straight. He glared, stomach clenching at the sight of Ro's blank, spacey eyes. Disgusting. Absolutely disgusting. "You _liar_."

That threw Ro for a second. "Oh?" Had he missed the Moment? Why wasn't the Saiyan showing any pain? Was he still processing how utterly dead he was going to be in a few minutes? That must be it. Leaden disappointment sat in Ro's throat. He'd studied Vegeta for a long time, and this was supposed to be the worst thing that could possibly happen to him. It was supposed to _shatter _his outlook on fighting for the rest of his short existence! If Ro had gone through _all that trouble for nothing..._

Meanwhile, Vegeta had been studying Ro in his own way. There again was that eerie feeling he'd been getting since day one. He was so close to putting his finger on it... it was in those times he'd been so close to giving up, the times that he was down to the last dregs of strength and stamina, the times that Vegeta knew how alive he really was, because he could feel the life draining out of him. Though it had been hard to pay attention to anything, he'd always felt Ro's eyes on his back. And now... Ro's composure never broke, but his eyes on Vegeta were expectant. Like somehow he was supposed to perform, like Ro wanted entertainment.

"What is it?" Vegeta said tightly. It was no use trying to divine the demon's true motives... Ro had been impenetrable from the very beginning. Vegeta's best bet was to just ask. "After all this time... deceiving me... pretending to have some sense of pride... you still feel the need to keep secrets? What are you hiding? If you were always so strong, why bring me here at all? What is it you _want... lusus naturae?"_

Ro grew angry, actually angry. "Well, what do you think?" He had lost it. The Moment had passed right over his head and he _missed it._ Somehow he screwed it up and the only chance of entertainment he'd had for years was gone. "Not to have the 'thrill' of fighting someone as powerful, that's for sure."

Vegeta looked at him, expressionless. He was showing emotion now of all times...? Of course Ro didn't want to fight him for his power. It was just another lie to appeal to Vegeta's Saiyanity so he would learn the Sabaku-Kaze and...

"Then why? What's the point?" Vegeta was stalling. Or was he? He knew Ro wasn't planning on letting him go back to Earth, he never had. Come to think of it, Vegeta had never wondered how he would get back. He was dead. In the face of the Sabaku-Kaze, Vegeta had went blind. But Ro was so much more powerful than even that... Vegeta was like a fox going up again a tiger. He had let himself assume that just because they were the same color they were a match... and he was going to pay for that mistake with his memories and his spirit. The thought that every second was the last he would ever have should have been enough to terrify him... but even so...

His heart was still. Still, yes, because it had froze long ago... petrifying itself for reasons that had been just a bit too sacrificial for Vegeta's tastes... probably why every single one of them had failed to bear fruit. But also still because his heart only beat faster when he killed someone who was worth anything... or when he was outdone, alone and with no tricks up his sleeve.

But in that Moment, he had something. It was risky, stupidly risky, and if it failed it would mean he hadn't learned his lesson at all, but then again... if it failed, he'd be so far away from sentience he wouldn't be in any position to care.

"The point... yes, good question. _The point, _you _bastard, _was for you to be in the _worst pain _that you, that _anyone, _has ever felt." Ro had never been so irritated, so disappointed, so _furious_. And that _stupid _Saiyan wasn't even paying attention, he was just staring at the ground! Had he actually regressed into a monkey?

"So you're a sadist..." Vegeta murmured, half of his mind away. He did a quick check up on his energy and body. Ever since he had learned to heal, his body had been in crystalline condition but his _chi... _yes, it could be strengthened by willpower, but even though Vegeta's will was one of the strongest in the galaxy, there were some things that just needed time and rest to heal. His _chi _wasn't damaged... but it was acting more like static electricity and less like its normal dependable current. He didn't know how much farther he could push it. But he had to try... it was the only thing left to do. He had practiced trusting his _chi _to hold itself together... to endure past all the limits it had in the past... he only hoped it would be enough. Next to what he was planning on doing very soon... the Sabaku-Kaze looked like a good night's sleep.

"I am the product of every evil thought in any organic being's mind. There is nothing more evil than taking joy at the suffering of others." Ro began to circle Vegeta, who kept staring ahead. What a stoic. "There's some of you in me, Vegeta. A fair bit. Of course, Freeza as well."

"And Kakarrot?"

"Nothing. You can't get much purer than that one. I have to admit, I was surprised... especially for a Saiyan. You sure know how to pick your enemies, Vegeta."

"I didn't pick him." In his mind, Vegeta had no choice in the matter. He was to be the one who would kill Kakarrot, a fact just as sure as him being the Prince of All Saiyans was.

"You know," Ro was still walking around him, "pure evil is actually stronger than pure good. It's just so much harder to attain. You did a pretty good job, though. Right now, you're the second most powerful being in the universe."

"With you being the first."

"Of course."

Ro failed to appear in front of Vegeta. Vegeta crossed his arms and let out a small sigh. Ro was going to start the attack very soon. Knowing him... he would want to toy with Vegeta first... it would be a while before he would start to inflict lethal damage... so he best not try just yet. There was no point in throwing his only hope away, not if he could prepare himself _just _a little more... Vegeta's awareness was so attuned that he could feel every cell in his body... each one worked day after day to protect him, to keep his soul tethered, and he thanked them all... but he still needed to go deeper. He needed to find a control greater than any he had even dreamed of.

In hypersonic subspace, Ro's frustration dissipated into bitter acceptance. The promise of Vegeta's pain had been nothing but a great big anti-climax. Perhaps the Saiyan had suffered too much in his lifetime for even such a letdown as this to cause much damage. Ro didn't care. There wasn't much else left to do but destroy what was left of Vegeta and go back to watching the oblivious people of the galaxy.

_S-I-G-H._

Vegeta raised his _chi_. Better practice the precise control that was necessary for his gamble now. Ro seemed to prefer attacking his face, and Vegeta was confident that the worst he'd suffer from the first blow would be a bloody nose. Ro wasn't going to destroy him until he'd had his fun.

But with luck, Vegeta would get the time to play instead. He could feel his senses going past cell-level... but it was too slow... he just needed a bit more time...

Without any warning, no fluctuation in Ro's colossal _chi_, no change in the air currents, and certainly nothing that Vegeta could see, it came. The attack was so instantaneous that it was almost like his nose started bleeding on its own. Over his hand pressed to his face, Vegeta's sight focused on Ro, now standing in front of him, eyes closed.

"Any last words?" Ro asked softly, half his attention on searching for something to entertain him after he disposed of his Saiyan letdown.

"Yeah..." Vegeta said, aching _chi_ bracing for one last transformation. He had known for quite some time that at least half his difficulties with learning the Sabaku-Kaze had not only come from fatigue and injury... but also from not being able to fight at full power. It was like trying to put together a sturdy crate with no nails, only glue sticks and frustration.

This was his last chance to see if he could... otherwise he'd die permanently without ever knowing. And there was nothing Vegeta hated more than not knowing.

As the most infuriating, yet most brilliant, warrior he'd ever met once said, "Better to blow myself up than let him do it."

"Sabaku-Kaze x20." His voice was calmer than the utter hopelessness of his situation should have really warranted.

"What is it that's making you think you have a chance?" Ro knew Vegeta well enough to know he thought he had some sort of trump card. Impossible. Ro was just too powerful- no secret technique could even scratch his skin.

Vegeta didn't reply, just held the power as one would hold a boiling hot mug of tea and stared at Ro until the answer dawned on him. At Ro's level, you could only fight power with power. And Vegeta did have one more option... if you could call it that. "You're going to go Super Saiyan."

"What choice do I have?" Vegeta asked through gritted teeth. The strain of holding his _chi_ together was already sinking its claws into him.

"I just didn't have you down for that much of a fool, Vegeta." Ro cocked his head curiously. "You do know that you would have enough energy to blow up the _entire multiverse?_"

"I am aware, yes." Vegeta could feel the veins desperately pumping blood as the ungodly pressure increased.

"So what makes you think that you, a mortal, would be able to control it at all? You would die before that energy could even finish its build." Ro glanced at Vegeta's red face in amusement. "Look at you. You can't even handle x20 longer than a few moments. Understandable, considering your base power level, but still. It's just beyond your capabilities, Vegeta... though I'm sure you've thought of that already. You don't seem like the type who would surrender if you had another option." Ro took a moment to appreciate the irony of the situation. Vegeta was going to break very, very soon, without Ro's help. Seems like, in the end, the only person who could cause the Saiyan pain was himself.

As if on some sort of cosmic cue, Vegeta's exhausted legs finally gave out and he collapsed. He was so used to external pain that it was shocking to feel it coming from inside him and he cried out. It was a betrayal a thousand times worse than anything Ro could come up with, his own muscles close to snapping his bones in the strain of the Sabaku-Kaze x20, and that knowledge was the only thing that gave him the strength to keep holding on. He was past rational thought. Revenge and petty ideals had no place where he was, the only language he spoke was instinct. And, when faced with betrayal, Vegeta's instinct had always been to fight.

But to Ro, the Saiyan's inhuman struggle to wield the very power he had sought his whole life was getting boring. In fact, he would have already snuffed Vegeta by now had it not been for the arrival of his long-overdue pain. _Finally, some quality entertainment. _Ro sat on the ground next to Vegeta, who by now was convulsing under the strain of the twenty-fold Sabaku-Kaze.

It was like every single one of his cells was trying to rip itself apart from the others. It felt like the only thing keeping his soul chained to this world was the sheer force of his own will. It certainly wasn't his body. He was having a full-out seizure now, and there wasn't a damn thing he could do about it because he was too busy _keeping his _chi _from being torn to shreds._

... But... why? Why was he putting himself through all this? The small part of Vegeta's mind that hadn't yet succumbed to the screaming pain tried its hardest to remember the most important question of all. _Why?_

His whole life slowly turned in his mind's eye... training... battles... slaughter... defeat... blood spilled on the ground... enemies vaporized into nothingness... defeat... training... defeat... training... defeat... defeat... _defeat._

ENOUGH_._

He had suffered by his own hand _enough_.

It was finally time. Vegeta had thought so many times before, he had thought he couldn't rise any higher... and eventually, fall any farther, had thought he finally knew what torture was...

But now he _knew _it, even as his tenuous grip on his _chi_ slipped at last, he knew that it was finally time for him to reach full power.

Super Saiyan.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Time froze on the Moment. For an instant, Ro's entire plane pulsed with golden energy... but before Ro had a chance to see it the light shimmered and imploded on Vegeta, now floating an inch off the ground.

Ro waited for perhaps ten seconds, getting more and more uneasy as Vegeta continued to exist. But he looked more dead than alive: eyes not moving or blinking in a face of stone, body rigid in the air. The only movement coming from him was his hair, lazily waving as if underwater.

If Vegeta moved one single molecule out of place, the entire galaxy would be gone. He could feel the _elements _that made him out, every single one of them. He had never been so still. His mind didn't have much freedom of movement either- it was narrowed to one single point of focus: Rokuma the honourless snake, and how best to _kill him._

No sooner had the idea whispered itself to Vegeta than he found himself on top of Ro, who he had just pushed to the ground triliseconds before. It took him another instant to realize he was choking him. Would he be able to loosen his grip without losing control of his _chi_? Had to take the risk -good, he managed it- it wasn't yet time for Ro to die. He needed to know first. Vegeta needed to see the shocked comprehension dawning on Ro's blank face... _heh heh heh_... that had always been his favorite part.

For Ro, it had already ended when he saw -or rather, _didn't _see- how fast Vegeta was. No one had ever gone too fast for him to see. It wasn't supposed to be possible... but Vegeta had such unearthly discipline and complete mastery over both his mind and physical manifestation that he was able to take the galaxy-crushing power... and bend it to his will. He could _control _it.

Ro was suddenly aware that the seconds slowly trudging by were to be his last. He, with all his immeasurable strength, was going to die by the hands of a lone Saiyan. "You really are amazing."

Vegeta's fist smashed through Ro's rib cage, grabbed hold of his spine and tore it out in one knobbly cord. _Save your praise, SCUM._ He was sick of being talked down to.

Ro went limp and twitching underneath Vegeta, completely paralyzed. Vegeta calmly pressed his hands on Ro's chest to staunch the bleeding. He was meant to do it... his _chi _gave him no other choice. It still wasn't time for Ro to die.

But it was time for Vegeta to speak. And once he opened his mouth, the words starting flowing out on their own.

"All my life I've searched for this 'ultimate power'... I kept thinking I'd reached it... but time and time again I had not. I started to think that there was no 'ultimate power' after all, just an infinite parade of warriors marching towards an empty promise... how pointless. I almost lost hope then... but something kept me going. It was my Saiyan blood. No matter how many bitter defeats I suffered through, I knew deep inside that there was something for me at the end. And I was right." To Vegeta's ears, his own tone of voice sounded like he was reading a bedtime story. He continued.

"I thank you, _Rokuma, _for showing me the way... misguided though your intentions may have been, I would have never gotten here on my own... so I'll put you out of your misery and kill you before I leave. I do aim to please you, _Rokuma." _Vegeta smiled. Ro could only stare at him, suffering but not afraid. "I would say that you must be pleased to have a successor, but that is neither your way nor mine. So farewell, new friend, farewell, dear mentor, pity that you never knew real power. _For it is glorious."_

Though his energy was almost all drained away, Ro drew in one last breath. "Is... is this how it f-feels...? To feel so... much pain..."

Vegeta thought of all the times Ro had so rudely cut him off mid-sentence by punching him and mildly entertained the idea of doing the same to him this time. Before he could dismiss the thought, the warmth of fresh blood appeared on his hands and he was suddenly pinning a corpse to the ground.

He'd killed the most powerful being that had ever existed accidentally. Vegeta held his stained hands out in front of him, stunned.

The violet bursts of lightning washed into crimson ones as ownership of the dark plane came to Vegeta... for he had killed its previous master. As if they had switched spots, Ro was now the dead man and Vegeta was the monster.

Any unlucky soul he killed would not be able to ascend. It would just drift in the space between worlds forever, hidden away to all but him.

And he inherited a few thousand years in energy.

Vegeta couldn't help but smile as he felt his body waking up, a pulse fluttering in his neck... oh, it was good to be alive again. He slowly released the Super Saiyan form, for now. Even though energy worked differently alive than dead, he knew he would be able to reclaim his power again. But he couldn't heal himself by will alone anymore... no matter. Now all that was left was to find a way to escape. Maybe he could tear a portal in the fabric of reality...

Oh, please. That was too crude and just a waste of time. Vegeta owned the dark plane. He could get in or out as he pleased. He could even bring others with him, but that wouldn't be happening. He was never coming back... it was too lackluster for him.

As Vegeta summoned a portal to Earth, he thought of Kakarrot. Vegeta had spent so much time chasing after him... now he could see how small the other Saiyan really was. The way he was now, it would be ludicrously easy to beat him at half power, maybe with one arm.

But Vegeta had promised Kakarrot a _fight. _And he always kept his promises. Son Goku would be the first mortal to see his full power.

Vegeta left the dark plane with nothing in it but the corpse of Ro, its former owner, and the harvested spine on the ground next to him. The dark plane would drift in space for the rest of eternity, its grisly tableaux undisturbed, because Vegeta would never return.

OoO

_Arrgh!_

Only five seconds... five measly seconds for Son Goku to choose a Potara fusion partner before Boo finished off the earth... and there was no one left but Hercule. This was past disaster... this was _doomsday_.

He had no choice. Goku cocked back his arm, called for Hercule's attention, and-

_Wait! A _chi_! And a powerful one at that! It was so familiar... it almost felt like..._

"VEGETA! What _luck!_" Goku cried out loud. Finally, there was hope! He was on the opposite side of the planet... good! That would buy them a minute. Concentrate now...

Even as Boo jumped at Goku, ready for a rematch, Goku pressed two fingers to his forehead and vanished. Boo roared in outrage. That damn instant transmission! There had never been a technique so irritating. No matter, he could feel the Earthling appear somewhere else already. Boo took off with a grin, knowing that was to be the last annoyance that this planet caused him.

An instant when Goku was nowhere, then he flicked back into existence. The first thing that hit his eyes was the bright glare from the ocean. Then- to his right-

Vegeta. Never had Goku been so happy to see him.

As a matter of fact, Vegeta was thinking the exact same thing.

"Yeah! It _is _you!" Goku yelled in relief.

"It's me." Vegeta tilted his head slightly, looking for Boo's _chi_. Was that it? Well, well, well. He really was nothing to bother with. How disappointing. Just regular Sabaku-Kaze x20 would take care of him. He would be on top of them... in forty seconds.

Goku noticed the lack of a halo above Vegeta's head. "Whoa! How did you come back to life?"

"It's not worth the breath it would take to explain," Vegeta said dismissively. Hmm... didn't look like anyone else was around. Oh yeah, Boo slaughtered them all. At least it saved him the trouble.

"Oh, well, never mind that," Goku said hastily, keeping an eye on Boo's ever-approaching _chi_. Why did Vegeta look so _calm?_ Didn't he feel the power? "Put on this Potara earring! Then we can beat Boo and bring everybody back to life!"

Vegeta considered the little glass ball. "It'll combine us, won't it?" Ro had been keeping tabs on everything, and now all of that information was Vegeta's for the taking.

"Y-yeah!" Goku couldn't waste time asking how he knew. "Hurry, Boo's comin' fast!"

Vegeta took the earring between his first finger and thumb. Then he crushed it to powder and let the wind claim it from him. Seeing Goku's shocked expression, he couldn't help but laugh. He was so _worried._ "You actually thought I'd combine with you?"

"VEGETA! Why did you... what have you done?!" Goku gasped. "Don't you realize? Boo's going to be here in FIVE SECONDS!"

"Why would _I _combine with _you _when it would make _me_ so much weaker?" Vegeta drifted forwards until they were almost nose to nose.

But Goku could only stare in horror over Vegeta's shoulder.

Boo had arrived, armed with a beach ball sized bullet of _chi_ that was strong enough to blow up the moon.

Vegeta rolled his eyes. "Hold on. I'll pick up this trash myself." Turning around, it took him less than a second to find the bullet's path and knock it away.

"What? You again!" Boo said, then laughed. This simpleton was challenging him? Some people just never learned!

Vegeta cracked his knuckles, unimpressed. Normally, he'd enjoy killing someone who was once more powerful than him, but with Boo there really wasn't any point. _Anyone _could have beaten him back then. Boo wasn't even a proper person. Boring.

He stole a sidelong glance at Kakarrot, sensing a golden opportunity. All that was needed was a slight change in wording...

"Say goodbye, Boo." The sun was shining, a cool breeze was blowing and Vegeta was happy. It was finally time for him to claim his rightful place.. "_Kaiō-Ken x20._"

A tremendous bang that echoed across the planet, and Vegeta was powered up. He started building a _chi_ blast of his own.

Meanwhile, Goku was looking around at the planet struggling with Vegeta's power. _Vegeta knew the Kaiō-Ken? _How? Did he run the Serpent Road and meet Kaiō Sama? That had to be it... but the energy surrounding Vegeta wasn't red, it was black... and it felt different somehow...

It didn't matter. The Earth was officially saved! Fantastic!

Boo charged Vegeta before he had a chance to throw the blast. Anticipating, Vegeta dodged, landed one solid blow to the djinn's back and brought the giant ball down on him.

As Boo turned into ash, Goku remembered and shouted to Vegeta- "You have to incinerate him until there's nothing left! Just one particle is enough for him to regenerate!"

"Thanks." Before the ashes could begin to drift apart, Vegeta zapped them. That stupid little superpower had made Vegeta's death pointless. He wasn't about to forget it.

There was nothing left but silence.

Kakarrot came up beside Vegeta, in awe. It was amazing. Vegeta finally managed to beat him, and by such a wide margin... he bet even going Super Saiyan _3 _might not be enough to beat him. Vegeta, on the other hand, had done all this at his base form's power... with no Super Saiyan of any sort! Huh.

Goku hadn't been this excited in years! He was _inspired. _He would train again, and one day... he would beat Vegeta by an entire level. Goku loved a challenge, and he was happy that Vegeta was back in the game. Not to mention the _Earth_...

So Goku was completely unprepared for what he saw when he met Vegeta's eyes.

Anger. Cold intelligence. Disdain. Hatred.

It was like they had stepped back fifteen years. Like all Vegeta's time spent on Earth hadn't helped him at all.

It suddenly came to Goku that if Bulma had had Trunks -like she was _supposed _to- he would be the same age as Goten. Vegeta would have had a wife and a son- a family.

But that day, he stood before Goku alone with screaming eyes. He hadn't changed at all from the man who killed his own partner because he couldn't keep up. Goku couldn't imagine the danger Bulma had been in by living with him- but then again, Vegeta must have known not to try anything with Goku around. He was clever... he managed to fool everyone. He must have been waiting... waiting until he knew that he was strong enough to win. And now he was.

Vegeta watched Kakarrot's smile slowly disappear and he knew that Goku had found him out. He didn't mind being unmasked. It would be no fun otherwise.

Vegeta knew there wasn't going to be a battle, because he was going to be fighting at no less than full strength. It would be too short to count. Short but sweet.

"You're stronger than me," Goku said, "But that doesn't mean I'll just lie down and take it!" If Goku somehow got enough time to turn Super Saiyan 3, he would have a chance. Just a _chance, _that was all he needed. He knew Vegeta well... or at least, he knew his fighting style well. He hadn't known Vegeta as a person at all. None of them had...

_Don't get distracted now! Think about how you can get more _time_._

As if reading his thoughts, Vegeta spoke. "Power up. I'm not taking you down at anything less than your best."

Goku smiled grimly and started building his _chi_. Good ol' Vegeta. Who else would willingly let him power up?

Vegeta waited patiently until Goku's _chi_ stopped climbing. "Of course, the same goes for me."

Confusion. "Are you-"

Vegeta's catastrophical Super Saiyan _chi_ nearly knocked the planet out of orbit.

And for the first time, Son Goku could only stare wide-eyed, like a child, at the Saiyan before him. No, Vegeta wasn't a Saiyan. He was a completely different creature. He always had been.

In fact, he was the living personification of the evil inside every organic being.

Vegeta thought about just killing Kakarrot now, but knew that his energy wouldn't allow it. There was one more thing left to do.

"Hit me," Vegeta said. "Since I took so long to get our rematch, you get one free shot. How about using the Genki Dama? There's nothing worth gathering on Earth, but I hear there's quite a lot of untapped energy in the sun."

"..." How did he know _everything? _Goku got a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. Why was Vegeta _telling him? _Slowly, Goku raised his hands to the sky, Vegeta watching intently.

After a few seconds, Goku's hands dropped limply to his sides. "It's no use," he said. "It won't be enough to stop you."

A smile grew on Vegeta's face. "I thought you might say that. Do you still hope that maybe this is just a nightmare... that I'm still your friend?"

Goku looked away and nodded bitterly. There was no use trying to deny it. Now, because of his _stupid _blindness to Vegeta's true self, all of his friends were never coming back again.

"I was never your friend." Vegeta raised an open hand, facing Kakarrot. His palm started to glow red.

"Vegeta?" Goku searched the other Saiyan's face, sad for the first time.

"Kakarrot."

"Why?"

Vegeta paused, considering. "Because... that day I first came to Earth, with Nappa... because..." He had to cut himself off as his grip on his _chi_ wavered for a moment.

"Vegeta?" The sky darkened and Goku shuddered as Vegeta's _chi _swelled. If it went that much higher, the planet wouldn't be able to take it.

Vegeta had it again. That was _close._ Shaking his head, Vegeta started to re-charge the blast. "Because you let me live."

An explosion, not visible to Dende and Hercule from the other side of the world.

Vegeta's gaze, following the drifting trail of ashes down, found the blue planet slowly orbiting below him. Planet Earth meant nothing to him now. After a second, he turned to the clear sky. He could almost see the stars and planets that lurked past the atmosphere, innocent and ripe for the taking.

But if he was the most powerful being in the universe, would conquering it still be fun? Maybe Vegeta had to finally learn to appreciate things for what they were...

Or maybe a new martial artist would crop up someday, one who would make him fight at full power. Vegeta hoped so. Until then... he would find something to occupy himself...

_**Just as the doom of the universe was sealed by the wind, it starts with a smile.**_

_**~Lily F. Sang**_


End file.
